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+Project Gutenberg's Catholic Churchmen in Science, by James J. Walsh
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Catholic Churchmen in Science
+
+Author: James J. Walsh
+
+Release Date: October 13, 2010 [EBook #34067]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CATHOLIC CHURCHMEN IN SCIENCE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Don Kostuch
+
+
+
+
+[Transcriber's note]
+
+  This is derived from a copy on the Internet Archive:
+    http://www.archive.org/details/catholicchurchme008742mbp
+
+  Page numbers in this book are indicated by numbers enclosed in curly
+  braces, e.g. {99}. They have been located where page breaks occurred
+  in the original book.
+
+  Obvious spelling errors have been corrected but "inventive" and
+  inconsistent spelling is left unchanged.
+
+  Extended quotations and citations are indented.
+
+  Footnotes have been renumbered to avoid ambiguity, and relocated
+  to the end of the enclosing paragraph.
+
+[End Transcriber's note]
+
+
+
+CATHOLIC CHURCHMEN IN SCIENCE
+
+
+[FIRST SERIES]
+
+
+SKETCHES OF THE LIVES OF CATHOLIC
+ECCLESIASTICS WHO WERE AMONG
+THE GREAT FOUNDERS IN SCIENCE
+
+By
+
+JAMES J. WALSH, K.ST.G., M.D., PH.D., LITT.D.
+
+_Dean and Professor of Medicine and of Nervous Diseases
+at Fordham University School of Medicine; Professor
+of Physiological Psychology in the Cathedral College, New York;
+Member of A.M.A., N.Y. State Med. Soc.,
+A.A.A.S., Life Mem of N.Y. Historical Society._
+
+
+
+SECOND EDITION
+
+
+
+PHILADELPHIA
+
+American Ecclesiastical Review
+
+The Dolphin Press
+
+MCMX.
+
+
+
+COPYRIGHT. 1906, 1910
+
+American Ecclesiastical Review
+
+The Dolphin Press
+
+
+
+"A sorrow's crown of sorrow."
+
+
+
+THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED TO THE
+MEMORY OF MY MOTHER
+
+{vii}
+
+PREFACE.
+
+The following sketches of the lives of clergymen who were great
+scientists have appeared at various times during the past five years
+in Catholic magazines. They were written because the materials for
+them had gradually accumulated during the preparation of various
+courses of lectures, and it seemed advisable to put them in order in
+such a way that they might be helpful to others working along similar
+lines. They all range themselves naturally around the central idea
+that the submission of the human reason to Christian belief, and of
+the mind and heart to the authority of the Church, is quite compatible
+with original thinking of the highest order, and with that absolute
+freedom of investigation into physical science, which has only too
+often been said to be quite impossible to churchmen. For this reason
+friends have suggested that they should be published together in a
+form in which they would be more easy of consultation than when
+scattered in different periodicals. It was urged, too, that they would
+thus also be more effective for the cause which they uphold. This
+friendly suggestion has been yielded to, whether justifiably or not
+the reader must decide for himself. There is so great a flood of
+books, good, bad, and indifferent, ascribing their existence to the
+advice of well-meaning friends, that we poor authors are evidently not
+in a position to judge for ourselves of the merit of our works or of
+the possible interest they may arouse.
+
+{viii}
+
+I have to thank the editors of the _American Catholic Quarterly
+Review_, of the _Ave Maria_, and of _The Ecclesiastical Review_ and
+_The Dolphin_, for their kind permission to republish the articles
+which appeared originally in their pages. All of them, though
+substantially remaining the same, have been revised, modified in a
+number of particulars, and added to very considerably in most cases.
+
+The call for a second edition--the third thousand--of this little
+book is gratifying. Its sale encouraged the preparation of a Second
+Series of CATHOLIC CHURCHMEN IN SCIENCE, and now the continued demand
+suggests a Third Series, which will be issued during the year. Some
+minor corrections have been made in this edition, but the book is
+substantially the same.
+
+{ix}
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+                                                                PAGE
+
+PREFACE                                                           ix
+
+I.    THE SUPPOSED OPPOSITION OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION              3
+
+II.   COPERNICUS AND HIS TIMES                                    15
+
+III.  BASIL VALENTINE. FOUNDER OF MODERN CHEMISTRY                45
+
+IV.   LINACRE: SCHOLAR, PHYSICIAN, PRIEST                         79
+
+V.    FATHER KIRCHER, S.J. SCIENTIST, ORIENTALIST, AND COLLECTOR  111
+
+VI.   BISHOP STENSEN: ANATOMIST AND FATHER OF GEOLOGY            137
+
+VII.  ABBÉ HAÜY: FATHER OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHY                       169
+
+VIII. ABBOT MENDEL: A NEW OUTLOOK IN HEREDITY                    195
+
+
+{x}
+
+{1}
+
+I.
+
+THE SUPPOSED OPPOSITION OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION.
+
+{2}
+
+{3}
+
+I.
+
+THE SUPPOSED OPPOSITION OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION.
+
+A common impression prevails that there is serious, if not invincible,
+opposition between science and religion. This persuasion has been
+minimized to a great degree in recent years, and yet sufficient of it
+remains to make a great many people think that, if there is not entire
+incompatibility between science and religion, there is at least such a
+diversity of purposes and aims in these two great realms of human
+thought that those who cultivate one field are not able to appreciate
+the labors of those who occupy themselves in the other. Indeed, it is
+usually accepted as a truth that to follow science with assiduity is
+practically sure to lead to unorthodoxy in religion. This is supposed
+to be especially true if the acquisition of scientific knowledge is
+pursued along lines that involve original research and new
+investigation. Somehow, it is thought that any one who has a mind free
+enough from the influence of prejudice and tradition to become an
+original thinker or investigator, is inevitably prone to abandon the
+old orthodox lines of thought in respect to religion.
+
+Like a good many other convictions and persuasions that exist more or
+less as {4} commonplaces in the subconscious intellects of a great
+many people, this is not true. Our American humorist said that it is
+not so much the ignorance of mankind that makes him ridiculous as the
+knowing so many things "that ain't so." The supposed opposition
+between science and religion is precisely an apposite type of one of
+the things "that ain't so." It is so firmly fixed as a rule, however,
+that many people have accepted it without being quite conscious of the
+fact that it exists as one of the elements influencing many of their
+judgments--a very important factor in their apperception.
+
+Now, it so happens that a number of prominent original investigators
+in modern science were not only thoroughly orthodox in their religious
+beliefs, but were even faithful clergymen and guiding spirits for
+others in the path of Christianity. The names of those who are
+included in the present volume is the best proof of this. The series
+of sketches was written at various times, and yet there was a central
+thought guiding the selection of the various scientific workers. Most
+of them lived at about the time when, according to an unfortunate
+tradition that has been very generally accepted, the Church dominated
+human thinking so tyrannously as practically to preclude all notion of
+original investigation in any line of thought, but especially in
+matters relating to physical science. Most of the men whose lives are
+sketched lived during the fifteenth, sixteenth, and first half of the
+{5} seventeenth centuries. All of them were Catholic clergymen of high
+standing, and none of them suffered anything like persecution for his
+opinions; all remained faithful adherents of the Church through long
+lives.
+
+It is hoped that this volume, without being in any sense
+controversial, may tend to throw light on many points that have been
+the subject of controversy; and by showing how absolutely free these
+great clergymen-scientists were to pursue their investigations in
+science, it may serve to demonstrate how utterly unfounded is the
+prejudice that would declare that the ecclesiastical authorities of
+these particular centuries were united in their opposition to
+scientific advance.
+
+There is no doubt that at times men have been the subject of
+persecution because of scientific opinions. In all of these cases,
+without exception, however--and this is particularly true of such men
+as Galileo, Giordano Bruno, and Michael Servetus--a little
+investigation of the personal character of the individuals involved in
+these persecutions will show the victims to have been of that
+especially irritating class of individuals who so constantly awaken
+opposition to whatever opinions they may hold by upholding them
+overstrenuously and inopportunely. They were the kind of men who could
+say nothing without, to some extent at least, arousing the resentment
+of those around them who still clung to older ideas. We all know this
+class of individual very well. {6} In these gentler modern times we
+may even bewail the fact that there is no such expeditious method of
+disposing of him as in the olden time. This is not a defence of what
+was done in their regard, but is a word of explanation that shows how
+human were the motives at work and how unecclesiastical the
+procedures, even though church institutions, Protestant and Catholic
+alike, were used by the offended parties to rid them of obnoxious
+argumentators.
+
+In this matter it must not be forgotten that persecution has been the
+very common associate of noteworthy advances in science, quite apart
+from any question of the relations between science and religion. There
+has scarcely been a single important advance in the history of applied
+science especially, that has not brought down upon the devoted head of
+the discoverer, for a time at least, the ill-will of his own
+generation. Take the case of medicine, for instance. Vesalius was
+persecuted, but not by the ecclesiastical authorities. The bitter
+opposition to him and to his work came from his colleagues in
+medicine, who thought that he was departing from the teaching of
+Galen, and considered that a cardinal medical heresy not to be
+forgiven. Harvey, the famous discoverer of the circulation of the
+blood, lost much of his lucrative medical practice after the
+publication of his discovery, because his medical contemporaries
+thought the notion of the heart pumping blood through the arteries to
+be so foolish that they refused to {7} admit that it could come from a
+man of common sense, much less from a scientific physician. Nor need
+it be thought that this spirit of opposition to novelty existed only
+in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Almost in our own time
+Semmelweis, who first taught the necessity for extreme cleanliness in
+obstetrical work, met with so much opposition in the introduction of
+the precautions he considered necessary that he was finally driven
+insane. His methods reduced the mortality in the great lying-in
+hospitals of Europe from nearly ten per cent for such cases down to
+less than one per cent, thus saving many thousands of lives every
+year.
+
+Despite this very natural tendency to decry the value of new
+discoveries in science and the opposition they aroused, it will be
+found that the lives of these clergymen scientists show us that they
+met with much more sympathy in their work than was usually accorded to
+original investigators in science in other paths in life. This is so
+different from the ordinary impression in the matter that it seems
+worth while calling it to particular attention. While we have selected
+lives of certain of the great leaders in science, we would not wish it
+to be understood that these are the only ones among the clergymen of
+the last four centuries who deserve an honorable place high up in the
+roll of successful scientific investigators. Only those are taken who
+illustrate activity in sciences that are supposed to have been
+especially forbidden to clergymen. It {8} has been said over and over
+again, for instance, that there was distinct ecclesiastical opposition
+to the study of chemistry. Indeed, many writers have not hesitated to
+say that there was a bull, or at least a decree, issued by one or more
+of the popes forbidding the study of chemistry. This, is not only not
+true, but the very pope who is said to have issued the decree, John
+XXII, was himself an ardent student of the medical sciences. We still
+possess several books from him on these subjects, and his decree was
+meant only to suppress pseudo-science, which, as always, was
+exploiting the people for its own ends. The fact that a century later
+the foundation of modern chemical pharmacology was laid by a
+Benedictine monk, Basil Valentine, shows how unfounded is the idea
+that the papal decree actually hampered in any way the development of
+chemical investigation or the advance of chemical science.
+
+Owing to the Galileo controversy, astronomy is ordinarily supposed to
+have been another of the sciences to which it was extremely indiscreet
+at least, not to say dangerous, for a clergyman to devote himself. The
+great founder of modern astronomy, however, Copernicus, was not only a
+clergyman, but one indeed so faithful and ardent that it is said to
+have been owing to his efforts that the diocese in which he lived did
+not go over to Lutheranism during his lifetime, as did most of the
+other dioceses in that part of Germany. The fact that Copernicus's
+book was involved in the Galileo trial has rendered his {9} position
+still further misunderstood, but the matter is fully cleared up in the
+subsequent sketch of his life. As a matter of fact, it is in astronomy
+particularly that clergymen have always been in the forefront of
+advance; and it must not be forgotten that it was the Catholic Church
+that secured the scientific data necessary for the correction of the
+Julian Calendar, and that it was a pope who proclaimed the
+advisability of the correction to the world. Down to our own day there
+have always been very prominent clergymen astronomers. One of the best
+known names in the history of the astronomy of the nineteenth century
+is that of Father Piazzi, to whom we owe the discovery of the first of
+the asteroids. Other well-known names, such as Father Secchi, who was
+the head of the papal observatory at Rome, and Father Perry, the
+English Jesuit, might well be mentioned. The papal observatory at Rome
+has for centuries been doing some of the best work in astronomy
+accomplished anywhere, although it has always been limited in its
+means, has had inadequate resources to draw on, and has succeeded in
+accomplishing what it has done only because of the generous devotion
+of those attached to it.
+
+To go back to the Galileo controversy for a moment, there seems no
+better answer to the assertion that his trial shows clearly the
+opposition between religion, or at least ecclesiastical authorities,
+and science, than to recall, as we have done, in writing the
+accompanying sketch of the {10} life of Father Kircher, S.J., that
+just after the trial Roman ecclesiastics very generally were ready to
+encourage liberally a man who devoted himself to all forms of physical
+science, who was an original thinker in many of them, who was a great
+teacher, whose writings did more to disseminate knowledge of advances
+in science than those of any man of his time, and whose idea of the
+collection of scientific curiosities into a great museum at Rome
+(which still bears his name) was one of the fertile germinal
+suggestions in which modern science was to find seeds for future
+growth.
+
+It is often asserted that geology was one of the sciences that was
+distinctly opposed by churchmen; yet we shall see that the father of
+modern geology, one of the greatest anatomists of his time, was not
+only a convert to Catholicity, but became a clergyman about the time
+he was writing the little book that laid the foundation of modern
+geology. We shall see, too, that, far from religion and science
+clashing in him, he afterwards was made a bishop, in the hope that he
+should be able to go back to his native land and induce others to
+become members of that Church wherein he had found peace and
+happiness.
+
+In the modern times biology has been supposed to be the special
+subject of opposition, or at least fear, on the part of ecclesiastical
+authorities. It is for this reason that the life of Abbot Mendel has
+been introduced. While working in {11} his monastery garden in the
+little town of Brünn in Moravia, this Augustinian monk discovered
+certain precious laws of heredity that are considered by progressive
+twentieth-century scientists to be the most important contributions to
+the difficult problems relating to inheritance in biology that have
+been made.
+
+These constitute the reasons for this little book on Catholic
+clergymen scientists. It is published, not with any ulterior motives,
+but simply to impress certain details of truth in the history of
+science that have been neglected in recent years and, by presenting
+sympathetic lives of great clergymen scientists, to show that not only
+is there no essential opposition between science and religion, but on
+the contrary that the quiet peace of the cloister and of a religious
+life have often contributed not a little to that precious placidity of
+mind which seems to be so necessary for the discovery of great, new
+scientific truths.
+
+
+{12}
+
+II.
+
+COPERNICUS AND HIS TIMES.
+
+
+{13}
+
+All the vast and most progressive systems that human wisdom has
+brought forth as substitutes for religion, have never succeeded in
+interesting any but the learned, the ambitious, or at most the
+prosperous and happy. But the great majority of mankind can never come
+under these categories. The great majority of men are suffering, and
+suffering from moral as well as physical evils. Man's first bread is
+grief, and his first want is consolation. Now which of these systems
+has ever consoled an afflicted heart, or repeopled a lonely one? Which
+of these teachers has ever shown men how to wipe away a tear?
+Christianity alone has from the beginning promised to console man in
+the sorrows incidental to life by purifying the inclinations of his
+heart, and she alone has kept her promise.--MONTALEMBERT,
+Introduction to _Life of St. Elizabeth_.
+
+{14}
+
+
+
+[Illustration: NICOLAO COPERNICO]
+
+
+
+{15}
+
+II.
+
+COPERNICUS AND HIS TIMES.
+
+The association of the name of Copernicus with that of Galileo has
+always cast an air of unorthodoxy about the great astronomer. The
+condemnation of certain propositions in his work on astronomy in which
+Copernicus first set forth the idea of the universe as we know it at
+present, in contradistinction to the old Ptolemaic system of
+astronomy, would seem to emphasize this suspicion of unorthodox
+thinking. He is rightly looked upon as one of the great pioneers of
+our modern physical science, and, as it is generally supposed that
+scientific tendencies lead away from religion, there are doubtless
+many who look upon Copernicus as naturally one of the leaders in this
+rationalistic movement. It is forgotten that scarcely any of the great
+original thinkers have escaped the stigma of having certain
+propositions in some of their books condemned, and that this indeed is
+only an index of the fallibility of the human mind and of the need
+there is for some authoritative teacher. The sentences in Copernicus's
+book requiring correction were but few, and were rather matters of
+terminology than of actual perversion of accepted teaching. It was as
+such that their modification was suggested. In spite of this, the {16}
+impression remains that Copernicus must be considered as a
+rationalizing scientist, the first in a long roll of original
+scientific investigators whose work has made the edifice of
+Christianity totter by removing many of the foundation-stones of its
+traditional authority.
+
+It is rather surprising, in view of this common impression with regard
+to Copernicus, to find him, according to recent biographers, a
+faithful clergyman in honor with his ecclesiastical superiors, a
+distinguished physician whose chief patients were clerical friends of
+prominent position and the great noblemen of his day, who not only
+retained all his faith and reverence for the Church, but seems to have
+been especially religious, a devoted adherent of the Blessed Virgin
+Mother of God, and the author of a series of poems in her honor that
+constitute a distinct contribution to the literature of his time.
+
+All this should not be astonishing, however; for in the list of the
+churchmen of the half century just before the great religious revolt
+in Germany are to be found some of the best known names in the history
+of the intellectual development of the race. This statement is so
+contrary to the usual impression that obtains in regard to the
+character of that period as to be a distinct source of surprise to the
+ordinary reader of history who has the realization of its truth thrust
+upon him for the first time. Just before the so-called Reformation,
+the clergy are considered to have been so sunk in ignorance, or at
+least to {17} have been so indifferent to intellectual pursuits and so
+cramped in mind as regards progress, or so timorous because of
+inquisition methods, that no great advances in thought, and especially
+none in science, could possibly be looked for from them. To find,
+then, that not only were faithful churchmen leaders in thought,
+discoverers in science, organizers in education, initiators of new
+progress, teachers of the New Learning, but that they were also
+typical representatives and yet prudent directors of the advancing
+spirit of that truly wonderful time, is apt to make us think that
+surely--as the Count de Maistre said one hundred years ago, and the
+Cambridge Modern History repeats at the beginning of the twentieth
+century when treating of this very period--"history has been a
+conspiracy against the truth."
+
+Not quite fifty years before Luther's movement of protest began--that
+is, in 1471--there passed away in a little town in the Rhineland a man
+who has been a greater spiritual force than perhaps any other single
+man that has ever existed. This was Thomas à Kempis, a product of the
+schools of the Brethren of the Common Life, a teaching order that
+during these fifty years before the Protestant Revolution had over ten
+thousand pupils in its schools in the Rhineland and the Netherlands
+alone. As among these pupils there occur such names as Erasmus,
+Nicholas of Cusa, Agricola, not to mention many less illustrious, some
+idea of this old teaching institution, that has been very aptly
+compared to our {18} modern Brothers of the Christian Schools, can be
+realized.
+
+Kempis was a worthy initiator of a great half century. He had among
+his contemporaries, or followers in the next generation, such men as
+Grocyn, Dean Colet, and Linacre in England, Cardinal Ximenes in Spain,
+and Copernicus in Germany. Considering the usual impression in this
+matter as regards the lack of interest at Rome in serious study, it is
+curiously interesting to realize how closely these great scholars and
+thinkers were in touch with the famous popes of the Renaissance
+period. The second half of the sixteenth century saw the elevation to
+the papacy of some of the most learned and worthy men that have ever
+occupied the Chair of Peter. In 1447 Nicholas V became pope, and
+during his eight years of pontificate initiated a movement of sympathy
+with modern art and letters that was never to be extinguished. To him
+more than to any other may be attributed the foundation of the Vatican
+Library. To him also is attributed the famous expression that "no art
+can be too lofty for the service of the Church." He was succeeded by
+Calixtus III, a patron of learning, who was followed by Pius II, the
+famous AEneas Sylvius, one of the greatest scholars and most learned
+men of his day, who had done more for the spread of culture and of
+education in the various parts of Europe than perhaps any other alive
+at the time.
+
+The next Pope, Paul II, accomplished much {19} during a period of
+great danger by arousing the Christian opposition to the Saracens. His
+encouragement and material aid to the Hungarians, who were making a
+bold stand against the Oriental invaders, merit for him a place in the
+rôle of defenders of civilization. To him is due the introduction of
+the recently discovered art of printing and its installation on a
+sumptuous scale worthy of the center of Christian culture. His
+successor, Sixtus IV, deserves the title of the founder of modern
+Rome. Bridges, aqueducts, public buildings, libraries, churches--all
+owe to his fostering care their restoration and renewed foundation. He
+made it the purpose of his life to attract distinguished humanistic
+scholars to his capital, and Rome became the metropolis of culture and
+learning as well as the mother city of Christendom.
+
+Under such popes it is no wonder that Rome and the cities of Italy
+generally became the homes of art and culture, centers of the new
+humanistic learning and the shelters of the scholars of the outer
+world. The Italian universities entered on a period of intellectual
+and educational development as glorious almost as the art movement
+that characterized the time. As this was marked by the work of such
+men as that universal genius Leonardo da Vinci, of Michael Angelo,
+poet, painter, sculptor, architect; of Raphael, Titian, and Correggio,
+whose contemporaries were worthy of them in every way, some idea can
+be attained of the wonderful era that developed. No {20} wonder
+scholars in every department of learning flocked to Italy for
+inspiration and the enthusiasm bred of scholarly fellowship in such an
+environment. From England came men like Linacre, Selling, Grocyn, and
+Dean Colet; Erasmus came from the Netherlands, and Copernicus from
+Poland. Copernicus there obtained that scientific training which was
+later to prove so fruitful in his practical work as a physician and in
+his scientific work as the founder of modern astronomy.
+
+It may be as well to say at the beginning that even Copernicus was not
+the first to suggest that the earth moved, and not the sun; and that,
+curiously enough, his anticipator was another churchman, Nicholas of
+Cusa, the famous Bishop of Brixen. Readers of Janssen's _History of
+the German People_ will remember that the distinguished historian
+introduces his monumental work by a short sketch of the career of
+Cusanus, as he is called, who may be well taken as the typical
+pre-Reformation scholar and clergyman. Cusa wrote in a
+manuscript--which is still preserved in the hospital of Cues, or
+Cusa--published for the first time by Professor Clemens in 1847: "I
+have long considered that this earth can not be fixed, but moves as do
+the other stars--_sed movetur ut aliae stellae_." What a curious
+commentary these words, written more than half a century before
+Galileo was born, form on the famous expression so often quoted
+because supposed to have been drawn from Galileo by the condemnation
+of his doctrine at Rome: {21} _E pur se muove_--"and yet it moves!"
+Cusanus was a Cardinal, the personal friend of three popes, and he
+seems to have had no hesitation in expressing his opinion in the
+matter. In the same manuscript the Cardinal adds: "And to my mind the
+earth revolves upon its axis once in a day and a night." Cusanus was,
+moreover, one of the most independent thinkers that the world has ever
+seen, yet he was intrusted by the pope about the middle of the
+fifteenth century with the reformation of abuses in the Church in
+Germany. The pope seems to have been glad to be able to secure a man
+of such straightforward ways for his reformatory designs.
+
+The ideas of Nicholas of Cusa with regard to knowledge and the liberty
+of judgment in things not matters of faith can be very well
+appreciated from some of his expressions. "To know and to think," he
+says in one passage, "to see the truth with the eye of the mind is
+always a joy. The older a man grows, the greater is the pleasure it
+affords him; and the more he devotes himself to the search after
+truth, the stronger grows his desire of possessing it. As love is the
+life of the heart, so is the endeavor after knowledge and truth the
+life of the mind. In the midst of the movements of time, of the daily
+work of life, of its perplexities and contradictions, we should lift
+our gaze fearlessly to the clear vault of heaven and seek ever to
+obtain a firmer grasp of, and keener insight into, the origin of all
+goodness and duty, the capacities of our own hearts and minds, {22}
+the intellectual fruits of mankind throughout the centuries, and the
+wondrous works of nature around us; but ever remembering that in
+humility alone lies true greatness, and that knowledge and wisdom are
+alone profitable in so far as our lives are governed by them."
+[Footnote 1] It is no wonder, then, that the time was ripe for
+Copernicus and his great work in astronomy, nor that that work should
+be accomplished while he was a canon of a cathedral and for a time the
+vicar-general of a diocese.
+
+It is now nearly five years since Father Adolph Muller, S.J.,
+professor of Astronomy in the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome,
+and director of a private observatory on the Janiculum in that city,
+wrote his historical scientific study [Footnote 2] of the great
+founder of modern astronomy. The book has been reviewed, criticized
+and discussed very thoroughly since then, and has been translated into
+several languages. The latest translation was into Italian, the work
+of Father Pietro Mezzetti, S.J., [Footnote 3] and was published in
+Rome at the end of 1902--having had the benefit {23} of the author's
+revision. The historical details, then, of Copernicus's life may be
+considered to have been cast into definite shape, and his career may
+be appreciated with confidence as to the absolute accuracy and
+essential significance of all its features.
+
+
+
+  [Footnote 1: _History of the German People at the Close of the
+  Middle Ages_. By Johannes Janssen  Translated from the German by M A
+  Mitchell and A M Christie. Vol I, p. 3.]
+
+  [Footnote 2: _Nikolaus Kopernicus, Der Altmeister der neueren
+  Astronomie, Ein Lebens und Kultur Bild_. Von Adolf Muller, S.J.]
+
+  [Footnote 3: Professor of Astronomy and Physics at the Pontifical
+  Leonine College of Anagni]
+
+
+
+Nicholas Copernicus--to give him the Latin and more usual form of his
+name--was the youngest of four children of Niclas Copernigk, who
+removed from Cracow in Poland to Thorn in East Prussia (though then a
+city of Poland), where he married Barbara Watzelrode, a daughter of
+one of the oldest and wealthiest families of the province. His
+mother's brother, after having been a canon for many years in the
+cathedral of Frauenburg, was elected Bishop of the Province of
+Ermland. The future astronomer was born in 1473, at a time when Thorn,
+after having been for over two hundred years under the rule of the
+Teutonic Knights, had for some seven years been under the dominion of
+the King of Poland. There were two boys and two girls in the family;
+and their fervent Catholicity can be judged from the fact that all of
+them, parents and children, were inscribed among the members of the
+Third Order of St. Dominic. Barbara, the older sister, became a
+religious in the Cistercian Convent of Kulm, of which her aunt
+Catherine was abbess, and of which later on she herself became abbess.
+Andrew, the oldest son, became a priest; and Nicholas, the subject of
+this sketch, at least assumed, as we shall see, all the {24}
+obligations of the ecclesiastical life, though it is not certain that
+he received the major religious orders.
+
+Copernicus's collegiate education was obtained at the University of
+Cracow, at that time one of the most important seats of learning in
+Europe. The five-hundredth anniversary of the founding of this
+University was celebrated with great pomp only a few years ago. Its
+origin, however, dates back to the times of Casimir the Great, at the
+end of the thirteenth or the beginning of the fourteenth century. Its
+foundation was due to the same spirit of enthusiastic devotion to
+letters that gave us all the other great universities of the
+thirteenth century. The original institution was so much improved by
+Jagello, King of Poland, at the beginning of the fifteenth century,
+that it bears his name and is known as the Jagellonian University. It
+was very natural for Copernicus to go back to his father's native city
+for his education; but his ambitious spirit was not content with the
+opportunities afforded there. He does not seem to have taken his
+academic degrees, and the tradition that he received his doctorate in
+medicine at the University of Cracow cannot be substantiated by any
+documentary evidence.
+
+At Cracow, Copernicus devoted himself mainly to classical studies,
+though his interest in astronomy seems to have been awakened there. In
+fact, it is said that his desire to be able to read Ptolemy's
+astronomy in the original Greek, and {25} to obtain a good copy of it,
+led him to look to Italy for his further education. During his years
+at Cracow, however, he seems to have made numerous observations in
+astronomy, as most of the astronomical data in his books are found
+reduced to the meridian of Cracow. The observatory of Frauenburg, at
+which his work in astronomy in later life was carried on, was on the
+same meridian; so that it is difficult to say, as have some of his
+biographers, that, since Cracow was the capital of his native country,
+motives of patriotism influenced him to continue his observations
+according to this same meridian. Copernicus was anxious, no doubt, to
+come in contact with some of the great astronomers at the universities
+of Italy, whom he knew by reputation and whose work was attracting
+attention all over Europe at that time.
+
+How faithfully Copernicus applied himself to his classical studies can
+be best appreciated from some Latin poems written by him during his
+student days. These poems are an index, too, of the personal character
+of the man, and give some interesting hints of the religious side of
+his character. Altogether there are seven Latin odes, each ode
+composed of seven strophes. The seven odes are united by a certain
+community of interest or succession of subjects. All of them refer to
+the history of the Redeemer either in types or in reality. In the
+first one the prophets prefigure the appearance of the Saviour; in the
+second the patriarchs sigh for His coming; the {26} third depicts the
+scene of the Nativity in the Cave of Bethlehem; the fourth is
+concerned with the Circumcision and the imposition of the Name chosen
+by the Holy Ghost; the fifth treats of the Star and the Magi and their
+guidance to the Manger; the sixth concerns the presentation in the
+Temple; and the seventh, the scene in which Jesus at the age of twelve
+disputes with the doctors in the Temple at Jerusalem.
+
+Copernicus's recent biographers have called attention particularly to
+the poetical beauties with which he surrounds every mention of the
+Blessed Virgin and her qualities. As is evident even from our brief
+resume of the subjects of the odes, the themes selected are just those
+in which the special devotion of the writer to the Mother of the
+Saviour could be very well brought out. There are, besides, a number
+of astronomical allusions which stamp the poems as the work of
+Copernicus, and which have been sufficient to defend their
+authenticity against the attacks made by certain critics, who tried to
+point out how different was the style from that of Copernicus's later
+years in his scientific writings. The tradition of authorship is,
+however, too well established on other grounds to be disturbed by
+criticism of this sort. The poems were dedicated to the Pope. In
+writing poetry Copernicus was only doing what Tycho Brahe and Kepler,
+his great successors in astronomy, did after him; and the argument
+with regard to the difference of style in the two kinds of writings
+would hold also as regards these authors.
+
+{27}
+
+Copernicus's years as a boy and man--that is, up to the age of
+thirty-five--corresponded with a time of great intellectual activity
+in Europe. This fact is not as generally recognized as it should be,
+for intellectual activity is supposed to have awakened after the
+so-called Reformation. During the years from 1472 to 1506, however,
+there were founded in Germany alone no less than six universities:
+those of Ingolstadt, Treves, Tubingen, Mentz, Wittenberg, and
+Frankfort-on-the-Oder. These were not by any means the first great
+institutions of learning that arose in Germany. The universities of
+Prague and Vienna were more than a century old, and, with Heidelberg,
+Cologne, Erfurt, Leipsic, and Rostock, besides Greifswald and
+Freiburg, founded about the middle of the fifteenth century, had
+reached a high state of development, and contained larger numbers of
+students, with few exceptions, than these same institutions have ever
+had down to our own day. In most cases their charters were derived
+from the pope; and most of the universities were actually recognized
+as ecclesiastical institutions, in the sense that their officials held
+ecclesiastical authority.
+
+At this time--the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the
+sixteenth century--it was not unusual for students, in their
+enthusiasm for learning, to attempt to exhaust nearly the whole round
+of university studies. Medicine seems to have been a favorite subject
+with scholars who were widely interested in knowledge for its own {28}
+sake. Almost at the same time that Copernicus was studying in Italy,
+the distinguished English Greek scholar, Linacre, was also engaged in
+what would now be called post-graduate work at various Italian
+universities, and in the household of Lorenzo the Magnificent at
+Florence, with whose son--so much did Lorenzo think of him--he was
+allowed to study Greek. Linacre (as will be seen more at length in the
+sketch of his life in this volume), besides being the greatest Greek
+scholar of his time, the friend later of More and Colet and Erasmus in
+London, was also the greatest physician in England.
+
+To those familiar with the times, it may be a source of surprise to
+think of Copernicus, interested as we know him to have been in
+literature and devoted so cordially to astronomy, yet taking up
+medicine as a profession. He seems, however, to have been led to do so
+by his distinguished teacher, Novara, who realized the talent of his
+Polish pupil for mathematics and astronomy and yet felt that he should
+have some profession in life. A century ago Coleridge, the English
+writer, said that a literary man should have some other occupation.
+Oliver Wendell Holmes improved upon this by adding: "And, as far as
+possible, he should confine himself to the other occupation." Novara
+seems to have realized that Copernicus might be under the necessity of
+knowing how to do something else besides making astronomical
+observations, in order to gain his living; and as medicine was {29}
+satisfyingly scientific, the old teacher suggested his taking it up as
+a profession. Copernicus made his medical studies in Ferrara and
+Padua, and obtained his doctorate with honors from Ferrara.
+
+Copernicus seems to have taken up the practice of his profession
+seriously, and to have persevered in it to the end of his life. His
+biographers say that in the exercise of his professional duties he was
+animated by the spirit of a person who had devoted himself to the
+ecclesiastical life. While he did not publicly practise his
+profession, he was ever ready to assist the poor; and he also acquired
+great reputation in the surrounding country for his medical attendance
+upon clerics of all ranks. This continued to be the case,
+notwithstanding the fact that after the death of his uncle his mother
+inherited considerable wealth, and the family circumstances changed so
+much that he might well have given up any labors that were meant only
+to add to his income. In a word, he seems to have had a sincere
+interest in his professional work, and to have continued its exercise
+because of the opportunities it afforded for the satisfaction of a
+mind devoted to scientific research.
+
+Copernicus acquired considerable reputation by his medical services.
+His friend Giese speaks of him as a very skilful physician, and even
+calls him a second AEsculapius. Maurice Ferber, who became Bishop of
+Ermland in 1523, suffered from a severe chronic illness that began
+about 1529. He obtained permission from the canons {30} of the
+cathedral to have Doctor Copernicus, whose ability and zeal he never
+ceased to praise, to come from the cathedral town where he ordinarily
+resided to Heilsburg, in order to have him near him. Bishop Ferber's
+successor, Dantisco, also secured Copernicus's aid in a severe
+illness, and declared that his restoration to health was mainly due to
+the efforts of his learned physician. Giese was so confident of the
+Doctor's skill that when he became Bishop of Kulm and on one of his
+episcopal visitations fell ill at a considerable distance from
+Copernicus's place of residence, he insisted on having the astronomer
+doctor brought to take care of him.
+
+In 1541 Duke Albert of Prussia became very much worried over the
+illness of one of his most trusted counsellors. In his distress he had
+recourse to Copernicus, and his letter asking the Canon of the
+Cathedral of Frauenburg to come to attend the patient is still extant.
+He says that the cure of the illness is "very much at his heart"; and,
+as every other means has failed, he hopes Copernicus will do what he
+can for the assistance of his faithful and valued counsellor.
+Copernicus yielded to the request, and the counsellor began to improve
+shortly after his arrival. At the end of some weeks the Duke wrote
+again to the canons of the cathedral asking that the leave of absence
+granted to Copernicus should be extended in order to enable him to
+complete the cure which had been so happily begun. In this second
+letter the Duke talks of Copernicus as a {31} most skilful and learned
+physician. At the end of the month there is a third letter from the
+Duke, in which he thanks all the canons of the cathedral for their
+goodness in having granted the desired permission, and he adds that he
+shall ever feel under obligations "for the assistance rendered by that
+very worthy and excellent physician, Nicholas Copernicus, a doctor who
+is deserving of all honor." Not long afterward, when Copernicus's book
+on astronomy was published, a copy of it was sent to the Duke, and he
+replied that he was deeply grateful for it, and that he should always
+preserve it as a souvenir of the most learned and gentlest of men.
+
+There are a number of notes on the art of medicine made by Copernicus
+in the books of the cathedral library at Frauenburg. They serve to
+show how faithful a student he was, and to a certain extent give an
+idea of the independent habit of mind which he brought to the
+investigation of medicine as well as to the study of astronomy.
+Unfortunately, these have not as yet found an editor; but it is to be
+hoped that we shall soon know more of the medical thinking of a man
+over whose mind tradition, in the unworthier sense of that word,
+exercised so little influence.
+
+In 1530 Copernicus wrote a short prelude to the longer work on
+astronomy which he was to publish later. The propositions contained in
+this work show how far he had advanced on the road to his ultimate
+discovery. After a few words of introduction, the following seven
+axioms are laid down:--
+
+{32}
+
+1. The celestial spheres and their orbits have not a single center.
+
+2. The center of the earth is not the center of the universe, but only
+the center of gravity and of the moon's orbit.
+
+3. The planes of the orbits lie around the sun, which may be
+considered as the center of the universe.
+
+4. The distance from the earth to the sun compared with that from the
+earth to the fixed stars is extremely small.
+
+5. The daily motion of the heavenly sphere is apparent that is, it is
+an effect of the rotary motion of the earth upon it axis.
+
+6. The apparent motions of the moon and of the sun are so different
+because of the effect produced by the motion of the earth.
+
+7. The movements of the earth account for the apparent retrograde
+motion and other irregularities of the movements of the planets. It is
+enough to assume that the earth alone moves, in order to explain all
+the other movements observed in the heavens.
+
+It is no wonder that one of his bishop-friends, Frisio, writing to
+another bishop-friend, Dantisco, said: "If Copernicus succeeds in
+demonstrating the truth of his thesis--and we may well consider that
+he will from this prelude--he will give us a new heaven and a new
+earth." This shorter exposition of Copernicus's views was found in
+manuscript in the imperial library in Vienna only about a quarter of a
+century ago. {33} It is mentioned by Tycho Brahe in one of his works
+on astronomy in which he reviews the various contemporary advances
+made in the knowledge of the heavens.
+
+The publication of Copernicus's great work, "De Revolutionibus Orbium
+Celestium," was delayed until he was advanced in years, because his
+astronomical opinions were constantly progressing; and, with the
+patience of true genius, he was not satisfied with anything less than
+the perfect expression of truth as he saw it. It has sometimes been
+said that it was delayed because Copernicus feared the storm of
+religious persecution which he foresaw it would surely arouse. How
+utterly without foundation is this pretence, which has unfortunately
+crept into serious history, can be seen from the fact that Pope Paul
+III accepted the dedication of the work; and of the twelve popes who
+immediately followed Paul not one even thought of proceeding against
+Copernicus's work. His teaching was never questioned by any of the
+Roman Congregations for nearly one hundred years after his death.
+Galileo's injudicious insistence in his presentation of Copernicus's
+doctrine, on the novelties of opinion that controverted
+long-established beliefs, was then responsible for the condemnation by
+the Congregation of the Index; and, as we shall see, this was not
+absolute, but only required that certain passages should be corrected.
+The corrections demanded were unimportant as regards the actual
+science, and {34} merely insisted that Copernicus's teaching was
+hypothesis and not yet actual demonstration.
+
+It must not be forgotten, after all, that the reasons advanced by
+Copernicus for his idea of the movements of the planets were not
+supported by any absolute demonstration, but only by reasons from
+analogy. Nearly a hundred years later than his time, even after the
+first discoveries had been made by the newly constructed telescopes,
+in Galileo's day, there was no absolute proof of the true system of
+the heavens. The famous Jesuit astronomer, Father Secchi, says the
+reasons adduced by Galileo were no real proofs: they were only certain
+analogies, and by no means excluded the possibility of the contrary
+propositions with regard to the movements of the heavens being true.
+"None of the real proofs for the earth's rotation upon its axis were
+known at the time of Galileo, nor were there direct conclusive
+arguments for the earth's moving around the sun." Even Galileo himself
+confessed that he had not any strict demonstration of his views, such
+as Cardinal Bellarmine requested. He wrote to the Cardinal, "The
+system seems to be true;" and he gave as a reason that it corresponded
+to the phenomena.
+
+According to the astronomers of the time, however, the old Ptolemaic
+system, in the shape in which it was explained by the Danish
+astronomer Tycho Brahe, who was acknowledged as the greatest of
+European astronomers, appeared to give quite a satisfactory
+explanation of the {35} phenomena observed. The English philosopher,
+Lord Bacon, more than a decade after Galileo's announcement,
+considered that there were certain phenomena in nature contrary to the
+Copernican theory, and so he rejected it altogether. This was within a
+few years of the condemnation by the Congregation at Rome. As pointed
+out by Father Heinzle, S.J., in his article on Galileo in the
+"Catholic World" for 1887, "science was so far from determining the
+question of the truth or falsity of either the Ptolemaic or the
+Copernican system that shortly before 1633, the year of Galileo's
+condemnation, a number of savants, such as Fromond in Louvain, Morin
+in Paris, Berigard in Pisa, Bartolinus in Copenhagen, and Scheiner in
+Rome, wrote against Copernicanism."
+
+As we have said, Copernicus's book was not condemned unconditionally
+by the Roman authorities, but only until it should be corrected. This
+assured protection to the principal part of the work, and the warning
+issued by the Roman Congregation in the year 1820 particularizes the
+details that had to be corrected. It is interesting to note that
+whenever Copernicus is spoken of in this Monitum it is always in
+flattering terms as a "noble astrologer"--the word astrologer having
+at that time no unworthy meaning. The whole work is praised and its
+scientific quality acknowledged.
+
+The passages requiring correction were not many. In the first book, at
+the beginning of the {36} fifth chapter, Copernicus made the
+declaration that "the immobility of the earth was not a decided
+question, but was still open to discussion." In place of these words
+it was suggested that the following should be inserted: "In order to
+explain the apparent motions of the celestial bodies, it is a matter
+of indifference whether we admit that the earth occupies a place in
+the middle of the heavens or not."
+
+In the eighth chapter of the first book, Copernicus said: "Why, then,
+this repugnance to concede to our globe its own movement as natural to
+it as is its spherical form? Why prefer to make the whole heavens
+revolve around it, with the great danger of disturbance that would
+result, instead of explaining all these apparent movements of the
+heavenly bodies by the real rotation of the earth, according to the
+words of AEneas, 'We are carried from the port, and the land and the
+cities recede'?" This passage was to be modified as follows: "Why not,
+then, admit a certain mobility of the earth corresponding to its form,
+since the whole universe of which we know the bounds is moved,
+producing appearances which recall to the mind the well-known saying
+of AEneas in Virgil, 'The land and the cities recede'?"
+
+Toward the end of the same chapter Copernicus, continuing the same
+train of thought, says: "I do not fear to add that it is incomparably
+more unreasonable to make the immense vault of the heavens revolve
+than to admit the {37} revolution of our little terrestrial globe."
+This passage was to be modified as follows: "In one case as well as in
+the other--that is, whether we admit the rotation of the earth or that
+of the heavenly spheres--we encounter the same difficulties."
+
+The ninth chapter of the first book begins with these words: "There
+being no difficulty in admitting, then, the mobility of the earth, let
+us proceed to see whether it has one or a number of movements, and
+whether, therefore, our earth is a simple planet like the other
+planets." The following words were to be substituted: "Supposing,
+then, that the earth does move, it is necessary to examine whether
+this movement is multiple or not."
+
+Toward the middle of the tenth chapter Copernicus declares: "I do not
+hesitate to defend the proposition that the earth, accompanied by the
+moon, moves around the sun;" while the wording of this proposition had
+to be changed so as to substitute the term "admit" for "defend." The
+title of the eleventh chapter, "Demonstration of the Triple Movement
+of the Earth," was modified to read as follows: "The Hypothesis of the
+Triple Movement of the Earth, and the Reasons Therefor." The title of
+the twentieth chapter of the fourth book originally read: "On the Size
+of the Three Stars [_Sidera_], the sun, the moon, and the earth." The
+word "stars" was removed from this title, the earth not being
+considered as a star. The concluding words of {38} the tenth chapter
+of the first book, "So great is the magnificent work of the Omnipotent
+Artificer," had to be cancelled, because they expressed an assurance
+of the truth of his system not warranted by knowledge. With these few
+unimportant changes, any one might read and study Copernicus's work
+with perfect freedom.
+
+Traditions to the contrary notwithstanding, Galileo, because of the
+friendship and encouragement of the churchmen in Italy, had been
+placed in conditions eminently suited for study and investigation.
+Several popes and a number of prominent ecclesiastics were his
+constant friends and patrons. The perpetual secretary of the Paris
+Academy of Sciences, M. Bertrand, himself a great mathematician and
+historian, declares that the long life of Galileo was one of the most
+enviable that is recorded in the history of science. "The tale of his
+misfortunes has confirmed the triumph of the truth for which he
+suffered. Let us tell the whole truth. This great lesson was learned
+without any profound sorrow to Galileo; and his long life, considered
+as a whole, was one of the most serene and enviable in the history of
+science."
+
+Copernicus, like Galileo, had clerical friends to thank for an
+environment that proved the greatest possible aid to his scientific
+work. His position as Canon of the Cathedral of Frauenburg provided
+him with learned leisure, while his clerical friends took just enough
+interest in his investigations and the preliminary {39} announcements
+of his discoveries to make his pursuit of astronomical studies to some
+definite conclusion a worthy aim in life. It was this assistance that
+enabled him to publish his book eventually and bring his great theory
+before the world.
+
+Copernicus, far from having any leanings toward the so-called "reform"
+movement (as has often been asserted), was evidently a staunch
+supporter of his friend and patron Bishop Maurice Ferber, of Ermland,
+who kept his see loyal to Rome at a time when the secularization of
+the Teutonic order and the falling away of many bishops all around him
+make his position as a faithful son of the Church and that of his
+diocese noteworthy in the history of that time and place. It may well
+be said that under less favorable conditions Copernicus's work might
+never have been finished. As it was, his book met with great
+opposition from the Reformers, but remained absolutely acceptable even
+to the most rigorous churchmen until Galileo's unfortunate insistence
+on the points of it that were opposed to generally accepted theories.
+
+During all his long life Copernicus remained one of the simplest of
+men. Genius as he was, he could not have failed to realize how great
+was the significance of the discoveries he had made in astronomy. In
+spite of this he continued to exercise during a long career the simple
+duties of his post as Canon of the Cathedral of Frauenberg, nor did he
+fail to give such time as was asked of him for the medical treatment
+of the {40} poor or of his friends, the ecclesiastics of the
+neighborhood. These duties--as he seems to have considered them--must
+have taken many precious hours from his studies, but they were given
+unstintingly. When he came to die, his humility was even more
+prominent than during life. It was at his own request that there was
+graven upon his tombstone simply the prayer, "I ask not the grace
+accorded to Paul, not that given to Peter: give me only the favor Thou
+didst show to the thief on the cross." There is perhaps no better
+example in all the world of the simplicity of true genius nor any
+better example of how sublimely religious may be the soul that has far
+transcended the bounds of the scientific knowledge of its own day.
+
+The greatness of Copernicus's life-work can best be realized from the
+extent to which he surpassed even well-known contemporaries in
+astronomy and from his practical anticipation of the opinions of some
+of his greatest successors. Even Tycho Brahe, important though he is
+in the history of astronomical science, taught many years after
+Copernicus's death the doctrine that the earth is the center of the
+universe. Newton had in Copernicus a precursor who divined the theory
+of universal gravitation; and even Kepler's great laws, especially the
+elliptical form of the orbits of the planets, are at least hinted at
+in Copernicus's writings. He is certainly one of the most original
+geniuses of all times; and it is interesting to find that the
+completeness of his {41} scholarly career, far from being rendered
+abortive by friction with ecclesiastical superiors, as we might
+imagine probable from the traditions that hang around his name, was
+rather made possible by the sympathy and encouragement of clerical
+friends and Church authorities. Copernicus, the scholar, astronomer,
+physician, and clergyman, is a type of the eve of the Reformation
+period, and his life is the best possible refutation of the slanders
+with regard to the unprogressiveness of the Church and churchmen of
+that epoch which have unfortunately been only too common in the
+histories of the time.
+
+{42}
+
+{43}
+
+III.
+
+BASIL VALENTINE, FOUNDER OF MODERN CHEMISTRY.
+
+{44}
+
+Let us, then, banish into the world of fiction that affirmation so
+long repeated by foolish credulity which made monasteries an asylum
+for indolence and incapacity, for misanthropy and pusillanimity, for
+feeble and melancholic temperaments, and for men who were no longer
+fit to serve society in the world. Monasteries were never intended to
+collect the invalids of the world. It was not the sick souls, but on
+the contrary the most vigorous and healthful the human race has ever
+produced, who presented themselves in crowds to fill
+them.--MONTALEMBERT, _Monks of the West_.
+
+{45}
+
+III.
+
+BASIL VALENTINE, FOUNDER OF MODERN CHEMISTRY.
+
+The Protestant tradition which presumes a priori that no good can
+possibly have come out of the Nazareth of the times before the
+Reformation, and especially the immediately preceding century, has
+served to obscure to an unfortunate degree the history of several
+hundred years extremely important in every department of education.
+Strange as it may seem to those unfamiliar with the period, it is in
+that department which is supposed to be so typically modern
+the--physical sciences--that this neglect is most serious. Such a hold
+has this Protestant tradition on even educated minds that it is a
+source of great surprise to most people to be told that there were in
+many parts of Europe original observers in the physical sciences all
+during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries who were
+doing ground-breaking work of the highest value, work that was
+destined to mean much for the development of modern science.
+Speculations and experiments with regard to the philosopher's stone
+and the transmutation of metals are supposed to fill up all the
+interests of the alchemists of those days. As a matter of fact,
+however, men were making original observations of very {46} profound
+significance, and these were considered so valuable by their
+contemporaries that, though printing had not yet been invented, even
+the immense labor involved in copying large folio volumes by hand did
+not suffice to deter them from multiplying the writings of these men
+and thus preserving them for future generations, until the
+printing-press came to perpetuate them.
+
+At the beginning of the twentieth century, with some of the supposed
+foundations of modern chemistry crumbling to pieces under the
+influences of the peculiarly active light thrown upon older chemical
+theories by the discovery of radium and the radio-active elements
+generally, there is a reawakening of interest in some of the old-time
+chemical observers whose work used to be laughed at as so unscientific
+and whose theory of the transmutation of elements into one another was
+considered so absurd. The idea that it would be impossible under any
+circumstances to convert one element into another belongs entirely to
+the nineteenth century. Even so distinguished a mind as that of
+Newton, in the preceding century, could not bring itself to
+acknowledge the modern supposition of the absurdity of metallic
+transformation, but, on the contrary, believed very firmly in this as
+a basic chemical principle and confessed that it might be expected to
+occur at any time. He had seen specimens of gold ores in connexion
+with metallic copper, and had concluded that this was a manifestation
+of the natural transformation of one of these yellow metals into the
+other.
+
+{47}
+
+With the discovery that radium transforms itself into helium, and that
+indeed all the so-called radio-activities of the very heavy metals are
+probably due to a natural transmutation process constantly at work,
+the ideas of the older chemists cease entirely to be a subject for
+amusement. The physical chemists of the present day are very ready to
+admit that the old teaching of the absolute independence of something
+over seventy elements is no longer tenable, except as a working
+hypothesis. The doctrine of matter and form taught for so many
+centuries by the scholastic philosophers which proclaimed that all
+matter is composed of two principles, an underlying material
+substratum and a dynamic or informing principle, has now more
+acknowledged verisimilitude, or lies at least closer to the generally
+accepted ideas of the most progressive scientists, than it has at any
+time for the last two or three centuries. Not only the great
+physicists, but also the great chemists, are speculating along lines
+that suggest the existence of but one form of matter, modified
+according to the energies that it possesses under a varying physical
+and chemical environment. This is, after all, only a restatement in
+modern terms of the teaching of St. Thomas of Aquin in the thirteenth
+century.
+
+It is not surprising, then, that there should be a reawakening of
+interest in the lives of some of the men who, dominated by the earlier
+scholastic ideas and by the tradition of the possibility of finding
+the philosopher's stone, which would {48} transmute the baser metals
+into the precious metals, devoted themselves with quite as much zeal
+as any modern chemist to the observation of chemical phenomena. One of
+the most interesting of these--indeed he might well be said to be the
+greatest of the alchemists--is the man whose only name that we know is
+that which appears on a series of manuscripts written in the High
+German dialect of the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the
+sixteenth century. That name is Basil Valentine, and the writer,
+according to the best historical traditions, was a Benedictine monk.
+The name Basil Valentine may only have been a pseudonym, for it has
+been impossible to trace it among the records of the monasteries of
+the time. That the writer was a monk there seems to be no doubt, for
+his writings in manuscript and printed form began to have their vogue
+at a time when there was little likelihood of their being attributed
+to a monk unless an indubitable tradition connected them with some
+monastery.
+
+This Basil Valentine (to accept the only name we have), as we can
+judge very well from his writings, eminently deserves the designation
+of the last of the alchemists and the first of the chemists. There is
+practically a universal recognition of the fact now that he deserves
+also the title of Founder of Modern Chemistry, not only because of the
+value of the observations contained in his writings, but also because
+of the fact that they proved so suggestive to certain {49} scientific
+geniuses during the century succeeding Valentine's life. Almost more
+than to have added to the precious heritage of knowledge for mankind
+is it a boon for a scientific observer to have awakened the spirit of
+observation in others and to be the founder of a new school of
+thought. This Basil Valentine undoubtedly did.
+
+Besides, his work furnishes evidence that the investigating spirit was
+abroad just when it is usually supposed not to have been, for the
+Thuringian monk surely did not do all his investigating alone, but
+must have received as well as given many a suggestion to his
+contemporaries.
+
+In the history of education there are two commonplaces that are
+appealed to oftener than any other as the sources of material with
+regard to the influence of the Catholic Church on education during the
+centuries preceding the Reformation. These are the supposed idleness
+of the monks, and the foolish belief in the transmutation of metals
+and the search for the philosopher's stone which dominated the minds
+of so many of the educated men of the time. It is in Germany
+especially that these two features of the pre-Reformation period are
+supposed to be best illustrated. In recent years, however, there has
+come quite a revolution in the feelings even of those outside of the
+Church with regard to the proper appreciation of the work of the
+monastic scholars of these earlier centuries. Even though some of them
+did dream golden dreams over their alembics, the love of knowledge
+meant {50} more to them, as to the serious students of any age, than
+anything that might be made by it. As for their scientific beliefs, if
+there can be a conversion of one element into another, as seems true
+of radium, then the possibility of the transmutation of metals is not
+so absurd as, for a century or more, it has seemed; and it is not
+impossible that at some time even gold may be manufactured out of
+other metallic materials.
+
+Of course, a still worthier change of mind has come over the attitude
+of educators because of the growing sense of appreciation for the
+wonderful work of the monks of the Middle Ages, and even of those
+centuries that are supposed to show least of the influence of these
+groups of men who, forgetting material progress, devoted themselves to
+the preservation and the cultivation of the things of the spirit. The
+impression that would consider the pre-Reformation monks in Germany as
+unworthy of their high calling in the great mass is almost entirely
+without foundation. Obscure though the lives of most of them were,
+many of them rose above their environment in such a way as to make
+their work landmarks in the history of progress for all time.
+
+Because their discoveries are buried in the old Latin folios that are
+contained only in the best libraries, not often consulted by the
+modern scientist, it is usually thought that the scientific
+investigators of these centuries before the Reformation did no work
+that would be worth while considering in our present day. It is only
+some {51} one who goes into this matter as a labor of love who will
+consider it worth his while to take the trouble seriously to consult
+these musty old tomes. Many a scholar, however, has found his labor
+well rewarded by the discovery of many an anticipation of modern
+science in these volumes so much neglected and where such
+treasure-trove is least expected. Professor Clifford Allbutt, the
+Regius Professor of physics at the University of Cambridge, in his
+address on "The Historical Relations of Medicine and Surgery Down to
+the End of the Sixteenth Century," which was delivered at the St.
+Louis Congress of Arts and Sciences during the Exposition in 1904, has
+shown how much that is supposed to be distinctly modern in medicine,
+and above all in surgery, was the subject of discussion at the French
+and Italian universities of the thirteenth century. William Salicet,
+for instance, who taught at the University of Bologna, published a
+large series of case histories, substituted the knife for the Arabic
+use of the cautery, described the danger of wounds of the neck,
+investigated the causes of the failure of healing by first intention,
+and sutured divided nerves. His pupil, Lanfranc, who taught later at
+the University of Paris, went farther than his master by
+distinguishing between venous and arterial hemorrhage, requiring
+digital compression for an hour to stop hemorrhage from the _venae
+pulsatiles_--the pulsating veins, as they were called--and if this
+failed because of the size of the vessel, {52} suggesting the
+application of a ligature. Lanfranc's chapter on injuries to the head
+still remains a noteworthy book in surgery that establishes beyond a
+doubt how thoughtfully practical were these teachers in the medieval
+universities. It must be remembered that at this time all the teachers
+in universities, even those in the medical schools as well as those
+occupied with surgery, were clerics. Professor Allbutt calls attention
+over and over again to this fact, because it emphasizes the
+thoroughness of educational methods, in spite of the supposed
+difficulties that would lie in the way of an exclusively clerical
+teaching staff.
+
+In chemistry the advances made during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and
+fifteenth centuries were even more noteworthy than those in any other
+department of science. Albertus Magnus, who taught at Paris, wrote no
+less than sixteen treatises on chemical subjects, and, notwithstanding
+the fact that he was a theologian as well as a scientist and that his
+printed works filled sixteen folio volumes, he somehow found the time
+to make many observations for himself and performed numberless
+experiments in order to clear up doubts. The larger histories of
+chemistry accord him his proper place and hail him as a great founder
+in chemistry and a pioneer in original investigation.
+
+Even St. Thomas of Aquin, much as he was occupied with theology and
+philosophy, found some time to devote to chemical questions. After
+{53} all, this is only what might have been expected of the favorite
+pupil of Albertus Magnus. Three treatises on chemical subjects from
+Aquinas's pen have been preserved for us, and it is to him that we are
+said to owe the origin of the word amalgam, which he first used in
+describing various chemical methods of metallic combination with
+mercury that were discovered in the search for the genuine
+transmutation of metals.
+
+Albertus Magnus's other great scientific pupil, Roger Bacon, the
+English Franciscan friar, followed more closely in the physical
+scientific ways of his great master. Altogether he wrote some eighteen
+treatises on chemical subjects. For a long time it was considered that
+he was the inventor of gunpowder, though this is now known to have
+been introduced into Europe by the Arabs. Roger Bacon studied
+gunpowder and various other explosive combinations in considerable
+detail, and it is for this reason that he obtained the undeserved
+reputation of being an original discoverer in this line. How well he
+realized how much might be accomplished by means of the energy stored
+up in explosives can perhaps be best appreciated from the fact that he
+suggested that boats would go along the rivers and across the seas
+without either sails or oars and that carriages would go along the
+streets without horse or man power. He considered that man would
+eventually invent a method of harnessing these explosive mixtures and
+of utilizing their energies for his purposes without {54} danger. It
+is curiously interesting to find, as we begin the twentieth century,
+and gasolene is so commonly used for the driving of automobiles and
+motor boats and is being introduced even on railroad cars in the West
+as the most available source of energy for suburban traffic, that this
+generation should only be fulfilling the idea of the old Franciscan
+friar of the thirteenth century, who prophesied that in explosives
+there was the secret of eventually manageable energy for
+transportation purposes.
+
+Succeeding centuries were not as fruitful in great scientists as the
+thirteenth, and yet at the beginning of the fourteenth there was a
+pope, three of whose scientific treatises--one on the transmutation of
+metals, which he considers an impossibility, at least as far as the
+manufacture of gold and silver was concerned; a treatise on diseases
+of the eyes, of which Professor Allbutt [Footnote 4] says that it was
+not without its distinctive practical value, though compiled so early
+in the history of eye surgery; and, finally, his treatise on the
+preservation of the health, written when he was himself over eighty
+years of age--are all considered by good authorities as worthy of the
+best scientific spirit of the time. This pope was John XXII, of whom
+it has been said over and over again by Protestant historians that he
+issued a bull forbidding chemistry, though he was himself one of the
+enthusiastic students of chemistry {55} in his younger years and
+always retained his interest in the science. [Footnote 5]
+
+  [Footnote 4: Address cited]
+
+  [Footnote 5: For the refutation of this calumny with regard to John
+  XXII, see "Pope John XXII and the supposed Bull forbidding
+  Chemistry," by James J. Walsh, Ph. D., LL. D., in the _Medical
+  Library and Historical Journal_, October, 1905.]
+
+During the fourteenth century Arnold of Villanova, the inventor of
+nitric acid, and the two Hollanduses kept up the tradition of original
+investigation in chemistry. Altogether there are some dozen treatises
+from these three men on chemical subjects. The Hollanduses
+particularly did their work in a spirit of thoroughly frank, original
+investigation. They were more interested in minerals than in any other
+class of substances, but did not waste much time on the question of
+transmutation of metals. Professor Thompson, the professor of
+chemistry at Edinburgh, said in his history of chemistry many years
+ago that the Hollanduses have very clear descriptions of their
+processes of treating minerals in investigating their composition,
+which serve to show that their knowledge was by no means entirely
+theoretical or acquired only from books or by argumentation.
+
+Before the end of this fourteenth century, according to the best
+authorities on this subject, Basil Valentine, the more particular
+subject of our essay, was born.
+
+Valentine's career is a typical example of the personally obscure but
+intellectually brilliant lives {56} which these old monks lived. It
+seems probable, according to the best authorities, as we have said,
+that his work began shortly before the middle of the fifteenth
+century, although most of what was important in it was accomplished
+during the second half. It would not be so surprising, as most people
+who have been brought up to consider the period just before the
+Reformation in Germany as wanting in progressive scholars might
+imagine, for a supremely great original investigator to have existed
+in North Germany about this time. After all, before the end of the
+century, Copernicus, the Pole, working in northern Germany, had
+announced his theory that the earth was not the center of the
+universe, and had set forth all that this announcement meant. To a
+bishop-friend who said to him, "But this means that you are giving us
+a new universe," he replied that the universe was already there, but
+his theory would lead men to recognize its existence. In southern
+Germany, Thomas à Kempis, who died in 1471, had traced for man the
+outlines of another universe, that of his own soul, from its
+mystically practical side. These great Germans were only the worthy
+contemporaries of many other German scholars scarcely less
+distinguished than these supreme geniuses. The second half of the
+fifteenth century, the beginning of the Renaissance in Germany as well
+as Italy, is that wonderful time in history when somehow men's eyes
+were opened to see farther and their minds broadened to gather in more
+of the truth of {57} man's relation to the universe, than had ever
+before been the case in all the centuries of human existence, or than
+has ever been possible even in these more modern centuries, though
+supposedly we are the heirs of all the ages in the foremost files of
+time.
+
+Coming as he did before printing, when the spirit of tradition was
+even more rife and dominating than it has been since, it is almost
+needless to say that there are many curious legends associated with
+the name of Basil Valentine. Two centuries before his time, Roger
+Bacon, doing his work in England, had succeeded in attracting so much
+attention even from the common people, because of his wonderful
+scientific discoveries, that his name became a by-word and many
+strange magical feats were attributed to him. Friar Bacon was the
+great wizard even in the plays of the Elizabethan period. A number of
+the same sort of myths attached themselves to the Benedictine monk of
+the fifteenth century. He was proclaimed in popular story to have been
+a wonderful magician. Even his manuscript, it was said, had not been
+published directly, but had been hidden in a pillar in the church
+attached to the monastery and had been discovered there after the
+splitting open of the pillar by a bolt of lightning from heaven. It is
+the extension of this tradition that has sometimes led to the
+assumption that Valentine lived in an earlier century, some even going
+so far as to say that he, too, like Roger Bacon, was a product of the
+{58} thirteenth century. It seems reasonably possible, however, to
+separate the traditional from what is actual in his existence, and
+thus to obtain some idea at least of his work, if not of the details
+of his life. The internal evidence from his works enable the historian
+of science to place him within a half century of the discovery of
+America.
+
+One of the stories told with regard to Basil Valentine, because it has
+become a commonplace in philology, has made him more generally known
+than any of his actual discoveries. In one of the most popular of the
+old-fashioned text-books of chemistry in use a quarter of a century
+ago, in the chapter on Antimony, there was a story that I suppose
+students never forgot. It was said that Basil Valentine, a monk of the
+Middle Ages, was the discoverer of this substance. After having
+experimented with it in a number of ways, he threw some of it out of
+his laboratory one day, where the swine of the monastery, finding it,
+proceeded to gobble it up together with some other refuse. He watched
+the effect upon the swine very carefully, and found that, after a
+preliminary period of digestive disturbance, these swine developed an
+enormous appetite and became fatter than any of the others. This
+seemed a rather desirable result, and Basil Valentine, ever on the
+search for the practical, thought that he might use the remedy to good
+purpose even on the members of the community.
+
+Now, some of the monks in the monastery were of rather frail health
+and delicate constitution, {59} and he thought that the putting on of
+a little fat in their case might be a good thing. Accordingly he
+administered, surreptitiously, some of the salts of antimony, with
+which he was experimenting, in the food served to these monks. The
+result, however, was not so favorable as in the case of the hogs.
+Indeed, according to one, though less authentic, version of the story,
+some of the poor monks, the unconscious subjects of the experiment,
+even perished as the result of the ingestion of the antimonial
+compounds. According to the better version they suffered only the
+usual unpleasant consequences of taking antimony, which are, however,
+quite enough for a fitting climax to the story. Basil Valentine called
+the new substance which he had discovered antimony, that is, opposed
+to monks. It might be good for hogs, but it was a form of monks' bane,
+as it were. [Footnote 6]
+
+  [Footnote 6: It is curious to trace how old are the traditions on
+  which some of these old stories that must now be rejected, are
+  founded. I have come upon the story with regard to Basil Valentine
+  and the antimony and the monks in an old French medical encyclopedia
+  of biography, published in the seventeenth century, and at that time
+  there was no doubt at all expressed as to its truth. How much older
+  than this it may be I do not know, though it is probable that it
+  comes from the sixteenth century, when the _kakoethes scribendi_
+  attacked many people because of the facility of printing, and when
+  most of the good stories that have so worried the modern dry-as-dust
+  historian in his researches for their correction became a part of
+  the body of supposed historical tradition.]
+
+{60}
+
+Unfortunately for most of the good stories of history, modern
+criticism has nearly always failed to find any authentic basis for
+them, and they have had to go the way of the legends of Washington's
+hatchet and Tell's apple. We are sorry to say that that seems to be
+true also of this particular story. Antimony, the word, is very
+probably derived from certain dialectic forms of the Greek word for
+the metal, and the name is no more derived from _anti_ and _monachus_
+than it is from _anti_ and _monos_ (opposed to single existence),
+another fictitious derivation that has been suggested, and one whose
+etymological value is supposed to consist in the fact that antimony is
+practically never found alone in nature.
+
+Notwithstanding the apparent cloud of unfounded traditions that are
+associated with his name, there can be no doubt at all of the fact
+that Valentinus--to give him the Latin name by which he is commonly
+designated in foreign literatures--was one of the great geniuses who,
+working in obscurity, make precious steps into the unknown that enable
+humanity after them to see things more clearly than ever before. There
+are definite historical grounds for placing Basil Valentine as the
+first of the series of careful observers who differentiated chemistry
+from the old alchemy and applied its precious treasures of information
+to the uses of medicine. It was because of the study of Basil
+Valentine's work that Paracelsus broke away from the Galenic
+traditions, so supreme in medicine up to his time, {61} and began our
+modern pharmaceutics. Following on the heels of Paracelsus came Van
+Helmont, the father of modern medical chemistry, and these three did
+more than any others to enlarge the scope of medication and to make
+observation rather than authority the most important criterion of
+truth in medicine. Indeed, the work of these three men dominated
+medicine, or at least the department of pharmaceutics, down almost to
+our own day, and their influence is still felt in drug-giving.
+
+While we do not know the absolute date of either the birth or the
+death of Basil Valentine and are not sure even of the exact period in
+which he lived and did his work, we are sure that a great original
+observer about the time of the invention of printing studied mercury
+and sulphur and various salts, and above all, introduced antimony to
+the notice of the scientific world, and especially to the favor of
+practitioners of medicine. His book, "The Triumphal Chariot of
+Antimony," is full of conclusions not quite justified by his premises
+nor by his observations. There is no doubt, however, that the
+observational methods which he employed did give an immense amount of
+knowledge and formed the basis of the method of investigation by which
+the chemical side of medicine was to develop during the next two or
+three centuries. Great harm was done by the abuse of antimony, but
+then great harm is done by the abuse of anything, no matter how good
+it may be. For a {62} time it came to be the most important drug in
+medicine and was only replaced by venesection.
+
+The fact of the matter is that doctors were looking for effects from
+their drugs, and antimony is, above all things, effective. Patients,
+too, wished to see the effect of the medicines they took. They do so
+even yet, and when antimony was administered there was no doubt about
+its working.
+
+Some five years ago, when Sir Michael Foster, M.D., professor of
+physiology in the University of Cambridge, England, was invited to
+deliver the Lane lectures at the Cooper Medical College, in San
+Francisco, he took for his subject "The History of Physiology." In the
+course of his lecture on "The Rise of Chemical Physiology" he began
+with the name of Basil Valentine, who first attracted men's attention
+to the many chemical substances around them that might be used in the
+treatment of disease, and said of him:--
+
+  He was one of the alchemists, but in addition to his inquiries into
+  the properties of metals and his search for the philosopher's stone,
+  he busied himself with the nature of drugs, vegetable and mineral,
+  and with their action as remedies for disease. He was no anatomist,
+  no physiologist, but rather what nowadays we should call a
+  pharmacologist. He did not care for the problem of the body, all he
+  sought to understand was how the constituents of the soil and of
+  plants might be treated so as to be available for healing the sick
+  and how they produced their effects. We apparently owe to him the
+  introduction of many chemical substances, for instance, of {63}
+  hydrochloric acid, which he prepared from oil of vitriol and salt,
+  and of many vegetable drugs. And he was apparently the author of
+  certain conceptions which, as we shall see, played an important part
+  in the development of chemistry and of physiology. To him, it seems,
+  we owe the idea of the three "elements," as they were and have been
+  called, replacing the old idea of the ancients of the four
+  elements--earth, air, fire, and water. It must be remembered,
+  however, that both in the ancient and in the new idea the word
+  "element" was not intended to mean that which it means to us now, a
+  fundamental unit of matter, but a general quality or property of
+  matter. The three elements of Valentine were (1) sulphur, or that
+  which is combustible, which is changed or destroyed, or which at all
+  events disappears during burning or combustion; (2) mercury, that
+  which temporarily disappears during burning or combustion, which is
+  dissociated in the burning from the body burnt, but which may be
+  recovered, that is to say, that which is volatile, and (3) salt,
+  that which is fixed, the residue or ash which remains after burning.
+
+
+The most interesting of Basil Valentine's books, and the one which has
+had the most enduring influence, is undoubtedly "The Triumphal Chariot
+of Antimony." It has been translated and has had a wide vogue in every
+language of modern Europe. Its recommendation of antimony had such an
+effect upon medical practice that it continued to be the most
+important drug in the pharmacopoeia down almost to the middle of the
+nineteenth century. If any proof were needed that Basil Valentine or
+that the author of the books that go under that name was a monk, it
+would be found in the {64} introduction to this volume, which not only
+states that fact very clearly, but also in doing so makes use of
+language that shows the writer to have been deeply imbued with the old
+monastic spirit. I quote the first paragraph of this introduction in
+order to make clear what I mean. The quotation is taken from the
+English translation of the work as published in London in 1678.
+Curiously enough, seeing the obscurity surrounding Valentine himself,
+we do not know for sure who made the translation. The translator
+apologizes somewhat for the deeply religious spirit of the book, but
+considers that he was not justified in eliminating any of this. Of
+course, the translation is left in the quaint old-fashioned form so
+eminently suited to the thoughts of the old master, and the spelling
+and use of capitals is not changed:
+
+  Basil Valentine--His Triumphant Chariot of Antimony Since I, Basil
+  Valentine, by Religious Vows am bound to live according to the Order
+  of St. Benedict, and that requires another manner of spirit of
+  Holiness than the common state of Mortals exercised in the profane
+  business of this World; I thought it my duty before all things, in
+  the beginning of this little book, to declare what is necessary to
+  be known by the pious Spagyrist [old-time name for medical chemist],
+  inflamed with an ardent desire of this Art, as what he ought to do,
+  and whereunto to direct his aim, that he may lay such foundations of
+  the whole matter as may be stable; lest his Building, shaken with
+  the Winds, happen to fall, and the whole Edifice to be involved in
+  shameful Ruine, {65} which otherwise, being founded on more firm and
+  solid principles, might have continued for a long series of time
+  Which Admonition I judged was, is and always will be a necessary
+  part of my Religious Office; especially since we must all die, and
+  no one of us which are now, whether high or low, shall long be seen
+  among the number of men For it concerns me to recommend these
+  Meditations of Mortality to Posterity, leaving them behind me, not
+  only that honor may be given to the Divine Majesty, but also that
+  Men may obey him sincerely in all things.
+
+  In this my Meditation I found that there were five principal heads,
+  chiefly to be considered by the wise and prudent spectators of our
+  Wisdom and Art. The first of which is, Invocation of God. The
+  second, Contemplation of Nature The third, True Preparation. The
+  fourth, the Way of Using. The fifth, Utility and Fruit. For he who
+  regards not these, shall never obtain place among true Chymists, or
+  fill up the number of perfect Spagyrists. Therefore, touching these
+  five heads, we shall here following treat and so far declare them,
+  as that the general Work may be brought to light and perfected by an
+  intent and studious Operator.
+
+This book, though the title might seem to indicate it, is not devoted
+entirely to the study of antimony, but contains many important
+additions to the chemistry of the time. For instance, Basil Valentine
+explains in this work how what he calls the spirit of salt might be
+obtained. He succeeded in manufacturing this material by treating
+common salt with oil of vitriol and heat. From the description of the
+uses to which he put the end product of his chemical manipulation, it
+is evident that under the name of spirit of salt {66} he is describing
+what we now know as hydrochloric acid. This is the first definite
+mention of it in the history of science, and the method suggested for
+its preparation is not very different from that employed even at the
+present time. He also suggests in this volume how alcohol may be
+obtained in high strengths. He distilled the spirit obtained from wine
+over carbonate of potassium, and thus succeeded in depriving it of a
+great proportion of its water.
+
+We have said that he was deeply interested in the philosopher's stone.
+Naturally this turned his attention to the study of metals, and so it
+is not surprising to find that he succeeded in formulating a method by
+which metallic copper could be obtained. The substance used for the
+purpose was copper pyrites, which was changed to an impure sulphate of
+copper by the action of oil of vitriol and moist air. The sulphate of
+copper occurred in solution, and the copper could be precipitated from
+it by plunging an iron bar into it. Basil Valentine recognized the
+presence of this peculiar yellow metal and studied some of its
+qualities. He does not seem to have been quite sure, however, whether
+the phenomenon that he witnessed was not really a transmutation of the
+iron into copper, as a consequence of the other chemicals present.
+
+There are some observations on chemical physiology, and especially
+with regard to respiration, in the book on antimony which show their
+author to have anticipated the true explanation of the {67} theory of
+respiration. He states that animals breathe, because the air is needed
+to support their life, and that all the animals exhibit the phenomenon
+of respiration. He even insists that the fishes, though living in
+water, breathe air, and he adduces in support of this idea the fact
+that whenever a river is entirely frozen the fishes die. The reason
+for this being, according to this old-time physiologist, not that the
+fishes are frozen to death, but that they are not able to obtain air
+in the ice as they did in the water, and consequently perish.
+
+There are many testimonies to the practical character of all his
+knowledge and his desire to apply it for the benefit of humanity. The
+old monk could not repress the expression of his impatience with
+physicians who gave to patients for diseases of which they knew
+little, remedies of which they knew less. For him it was an
+unpardonable sin for a physician not to have faithfully studied the
+various mixtures that he prescribed for his patients, and not to know
+not only their appearance and taste and effect, but also the limits of
+their application. Considering that at the present time it is a
+frequent source of complaint that physicians often prescribe remedies
+with whose physical appearances they are not familiar, this complaint
+of the old-time chemist alchemist will be all the more interesting for
+the modern physician. It is evident that when Basil Valentine allows
+his ire to get the better of him it is because of his indignation over
+the {68} quacks who were abusing medicine and patients in his time, as
+they have ever since. There is a curious bit of aspersion on mere
+book-learning in the passage that has a distinctly modern ring, and
+one feels the truth of Russell Lowell's expression that to read a
+great genius, no matter how antique, is like reading a commentary in
+the morning paper, so up-to-date does genius ever remain:--
+
+  And whensoever I shall have occasion to contend in the School with
+  such a Doctor, who knows not how himself to prepare his own
+  medicines, but commits that business to another, I am sure I shall
+  obtain the Palm from him; for indeed that good man knows not what
+  medicines he prescribes to the sick; whether the color of them be
+  white, black, grey, or blew, he cannot tell; nor doth this wretched
+  man know whether the medicine he gives be dry or hot, cold or humid;
+  but he only knows that he found it so written in his Books, and
+  thence pretends knowledge (or as it were, Possession) by
+  Prescription of a very long time; yet he desires to further
+  Information Here again let it be lawful to exclaim, Good God, to
+  what a state is the matter brought! what goodness of minde is in
+  these men! what care do they take of the sick! Wo, wo to them! in
+  the day of Judgment they will find the fruit of their ignorance and
+  rashness, then they will see Him whom they pierced, when they
+  neglected their Neighbor, sought after money and nothing else;
+  whereas were they cordial in their profession, they would spend
+  Nights and Days in Labour that they might become more learned in
+  their Art, whence more certain health would accrew to the sick with
+  their Estimation and greater glory to themselves. But since Labour
+  is tedious to them, they commit the {69} matter to chance, and being
+  secure of their Honour, and content with their Fame, they (like
+  Brawlers) defend themselves with a certain garrulity, without any
+  respect had to Confidence or Truth.
+
+Perhaps one of the reasons why Valentine's book has been of such
+enduring interest is that it is written in an eminently human vein and
+out of a lively imagination. It is full of figures relating to many
+other things besides chemistry, which serve to show how deeply this
+investigating observer was attentive to all the problems of life
+around him. For instance, when he wants to describe the affinity that
+exists between many substances in chemistry, and which makes it
+impossible for them not to be attracted to one another, he takes a
+figure from the attractions that he sees exist among men and women.
+There are some paragraphs with regard to the influence of the passion
+of love that one might think rather a quotation from an old-time
+sermon than from a great ground-breaking book in the science of
+chemistry.
+
+  Love leaves nothing entire or sound in man; it impedes his sleep; he
+  cannot rest either day or night; it takes off his appetite that he
+  hath no disposition either to meat or drink by reason of the
+  continual torments of his heart and mind. It deprives him of all
+  Providence, hence he neglects his affairs, vocation and business. He
+  minds neither study, labor nor prayer; casts away all thoughts of
+  anything but the body beloved; this is his study, this his most vain
+  occupation. If to lovers the success be not answerable to their
+  wish, or so soon {70} and prosperously as they desire, how many
+  melancholies henceforth arise, with griefs and sadnesses, with which
+  they pine away and wax so lean as they have scarcely any flesh
+  cleaving to the bones Yea, at last they lose the life itself, as may
+  be proved by many examples! for such men, (which is an horrible
+  thing to think of) slight and neglect all perils and detriments,
+  both of the body and life, and of the soul and eternal salvation
+
+It is evident that human nature is not different in our sophisticated
+twentieth century from that which this observant old monk saw around
+him in the fifteenth. He continues:--
+
+  How many testimonies of this violence which is in love, are daily
+  found? for it not only inflames the younger sort, but it so far
+  exaggerates some persons far gone in years as through the burning
+  heat thereof, they are almost mad Natural diseases are for the most
+  part governed by the complexion of man and therefore invade some
+  more fiercely, others more gently; but Love, without distinction of
+  poor or rich, young or old, seizeth all, and having seized so blinds
+  them as forgetting all rules of reason, they neither see nor hear
+  any snare.
+
+But then the old monk thinks that he has said enough about this
+subject and apologizes for his digression in another paragraph that
+should remove any lingering doubt there may be with regard to the
+genuineness of his monastic character. The personal element in his
+confession is so naive and so simply straightforward that instead of
+seeming to be the result of conceit, and so repelling the reader, it
+rather attracts his {71} kindly feeling for its author. The paragraph
+would remind one in certain ways of that personal element that was to
+become more popular in literature after Montaigne had made such
+extensive use of it.
+
+  But of these enough; for it becomes not a religious man to insist
+  too long upon these cogitations, or to give place to such a flame in
+  his heart. Hitherto (without boasting I speak it) I have throughout
+  the whole course of my life kept myself safe and free from it, and I
+  pray and invoke God to vouchsafe me his Grace that I may keep holy
+  and inviolate the faith which I have sworn, and live contented with
+  my spiritual spouse, the Holy, Catholick Church. For no other reason
+  have I alleaged these than that I might express the love with which
+  all tinctures ought to be moved towards metals, if ever they be
+  admitted by them into true friendship, and by love, which permeates
+  the inmost parts, be converted into a better state
+
+The application of the figure at the end of his long digression is
+characteristic of the period in which he wrote and to a considerable
+extent also of the German literary methods of the time.
+
+In this volume on the use of antimony there are in most of the
+editions certain biographical notes which have sometimes been accepted
+as authentic, but oftener rejected. According to these, Basil
+Valentine was born in a town in Alsace, on the southern bank of the
+Rhine. As a consequence of this, there are several towns that have
+laid claim to being his birthplace. M. Jean Reynaud, the distinguished
+French {72} philosophical writer of the first half of the nineteenth
+century, once said that Basil Valentine, like Ossian and Homer, had
+many towns claim him years after his death. He also suggested that,
+like those old poets, it was possible that the writings sometimes
+attributed to Basil Valentine were really the work not of one man, but
+of several individuals. There are, however, many objections to this
+theory, the most forceful of which is the internal evidence of the
+books themselves and their style and method of treatment. Other
+biographic details contained in "The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony"
+are undoubtedly more correct. According to them, Basil Valentine
+travelled in England and Holland on missions for his Order, and went
+through France and Spain on a pilgrimage to St. James of Compostella.
+
+Besides this work, there is a number of other books of Basil
+Valentine's, printed during the first half of the sixteenth century,
+that are well-known and copies of which may be found in most of the
+important libraries. The United States Surgeon General's Library at
+Washington contains several of the works on medical subjects, and the
+New York Academy of Medicine Library has some valuable editions of his
+works. Some of his other well-known books, each of which is a
+good-sized octavo volume, bear the following descriptive titles (I
+give them in English, though, as they are usually to be found, they
+are in Latin, sixteenth-century {73} translations of the original
+German): "The World in Miniature: or, The Mystery of the World and of
+Human Medical Science," published at Marburg, 1609;--"The Chemical
+Apocalypse: or, The Manifestation of Artificial Chemical Compounds,"
+published at Erfurt in 1624;--"A Chemico-Philosophic Treatise
+Concerning Things Natural and Preternatural, Especially Relating to
+the Metals and the Minerals," published at Frankfurt in
+1676;--"Haliography: or, The Science of Salts: A Treatise on the
+Preparation, Use and Chemical Properties of All the Mineral, Animal
+and Vegetable Salts," published at Bologna in 1644;--"The Twelve Keys
+of Philosophy," Leipsic, 1630.
+
+The great interest manifested in Basil Valentine's work at the
+Renaissance period can be best realized from the number of manuscript
+copies and their wide distribution. His books were not all printed at
+one place, but, on the contrary, in different portions of Europe. The
+original edition of "The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony" was published
+at Leipsic in the early part of the sixteenth century. The first
+editions of the other books, however, appeared at places so distant
+from Leipsic as Amsterdam and Bologna, while various cities of
+Germany, as Erfurt and Frankfurt, claim the original editions of still
+other works. Many of the manuscript copies still exist in various
+libraries in Europe; and while there is no doubt that some unimportant
+additions to the supposed works of Basil Valentine have come {74} from
+the attribution to him of scientific treatises of other German
+writers, the style and the method of the principal works mentioned are
+entirely too similar not to have been the fruit of a single mind and
+that possessed of a distinct investigating genius setting it far above
+any of its contemporaries in scientific speculation and observation.
+
+The most interesting feature of all of Basil Valentine's writings that
+are extant is the distinctive tendency to make his observations of
+special practical utility. His studies in antimony were made mainly
+with the idea of showing how that substance might be used in medicine.
+He did not neglect to point out other possible uses, however, and knew
+the secret of the employment of antimony in order to give sharpness
+and definition to the impression produced by metal types. It would
+seem as though he was the first scientist who discussed this subject,
+and there is even some question whether printers and type founders did
+not derive their ideas in this matter from Basil Valentine, rather
+than he from them. Interested as he was in the transmutation of
+metals, he never failed to try to find and suggest some medicinal use
+for all of the substances that he investigated. His was no greedy
+search for gold and no accumulation of investigations with the idea of
+benefiting only himself. Mankind was always in his mind, and perhaps
+there is no better demonstration of his fulfilment of the character of
+the monk than this constant {75} solicitude to benefit others by every
+bit of investigation that he carried out. For him with medieval
+nobleness of spirit the first part of every work must be the
+invocation of God, and the last, though no less important than the
+first, must be the utility and fruit for mankind that can be derived
+from it.
+
+{76}
+
+{77}
+
+IV.
+
+LINACRE: SCHOLAR, PHYSICIAN, PRIEST.
+
+
+{78}
+
+Linacre, as Dr. Payne remarks, "was possessed from his youth till his
+death by the enthusiasm of learning. He was an idealist devoted to
+objects which the world thought of little use." Painstaking, accurate,
+critical, hypercritical perhaps, he remains to-day the chief literary
+representative of British Medicine. Neither in Britain nor in Greater
+Britain have we maintained the place in the world of letters created
+for us by Linacre's noble start. Quoted by Osler in _AEquanimitas_.
+
+
+
+[Illustration: THOMAS LINACRE]
+
+
+{79}
+
+IV.
+
+LINACRE: SCHOLAR, PHYSICIAN, PRIEST.
+
+Not long ago, in one of his piquant little essays, Mr. Augustine
+Birrell discussed the question as to what really happened at the time
+of the so-called Reformation in England. There is much more doubt with
+regard to this matter, even in the minds of non-Catholics, than is
+usually suspected. Mr. Birrell seems to have considered it one of the
+most important problems, and at the same time not by any means the
+least intricate one, in modern English history. The so-called High
+Church people emphatically insist that there is no break in the
+continuity of the Church of England, and that the modern Anglicanism
+is a direct descendant of the old British Church. They reject with
+scorn the idea that it was the Lutheran movement on the Continent
+which brought about the changes in the Anglican Church at that time.
+Protestantism did not come into England for a considerable period
+after the change in the constitution of the Anglican Church, and when
+it did come its tendencies were quite as subversal of the authority of
+the Anglican as of the Roman Church, Protestantism is the mother of
+Nonconformism in England. It can be seen, then, that the question as
+to what did really take place in the time {80} of Henry VIII and of
+Edward VI is still open. It has seemed to me that no little light on
+this vexed historical question will be thrown by a careful study of
+the life of Dr. Linacre, who, besides being the best known physician
+of his time in England, was the greatest scholar of the English
+Renaissance period, yet had all his life been on very intimate terms
+with the ecclesiastical authorities, and eventually gave up his
+honors, his fortune, and his profession to become a simple priest of
+the old English Church.
+
+Considering the usually accepted notions as to the sad state of
+affairs supposed to exist in the Church at the beginning of the
+sixteenth century, this is a very remarkable occurrence, and deserves
+careful study to determine its complete significance, for it tells
+better than anything else the opinion of a distinguished contemporary.
+Few men have ever been more highly thought of by their own generation.
+None has been more sincerely respected by intimate friends, who were
+themselves the leaders of the thought of their generation, than Thomas
+Linacre, scholar, physician and priest; and his action must stand as
+the highest possible tribute to the Church in England at that time.
+
+How unimpaired his practical judgment of men and affairs was at the
+time he made his change from royal physician to simple priest can best
+be gathered from the sagacity displayed in the foundation of the Royal
+College of Physicians, an institution he was endowing with the {81}
+wealth he had accumulated in some twenty years of most lucrative
+medical practice. The Royal College of Physicians represents the first
+attempt to secure the regulation of the practice of medicine in
+England, and, thanks to its founder's wonderful foresight and
+practical wisdom, it remains down to our own day, under its original
+constitution, one of the most effective and highly honored of British
+scientific foundations. No distinction is more sought at the present
+time by young British medical men, or by American or even Continental
+graduates in medicine, than the privilege of adding to their names the
+letters "F.R.C.P.(Eng.)," Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of
+England. The College worked the reformation of medical practice in
+England, and its methods have proved the suggestive formulae for many
+another such institution and for laws that all over the world protect,
+to some extent at least, the public from quacks and charlatans.
+
+Linacre's change of profession at the end of his life has been a
+fruitful source of conjecture and misconception on the part of his
+biographers. Few of them seem to be able to appreciate the fact,
+common enough in the history of the Church, that a man may, even when
+well on in years, give up everything to which his life has been so far
+directed, and from a sense of duty devote himself entirely to the
+attainment of "the one thing necessary." Linacre appears only to have
+done what many another in the history of {82} the thirteenth,
+fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries did without any comment; but his
+English biographers insist on seeing ulterior motives in it, or else
+fail entirely to understand it. The same action is not so rare even in
+our own day that it should be the source of misconception by later
+writers.
+
+Dr. S. Weir Mitchell has, in the early part of _Dr. North and His
+Friends_, a very curious passage with regard to Linacre. One of the
+characters, St. Clair, says: "I saw, the other day, at Owen's, a life
+of one Linacre, a doctor, who had the luck to live about 1460 to 1524,
+when men knew little and thought they knew all. In his old age he took
+for novelty to reading St. Matthew. The fifth, sixth, and seventh
+chapters were enough. He threw the book aside and cried out, 'Either
+this is not the Gospel, or we are not Christians.' What else could he
+say?" St. Clair uses the story to enforce an idea of his own, which he
+states as a question, as follows: "And have none of you the courage to
+wrestle with the thought I gave you, that Christ could not have
+expected the mass of men to live the life He pointed out as desirable
+for the first disciples of His faith?"
+
+Dr. Mitchell's anecdote is not accepted by Linacre's biographers
+generally, though it is copied by Dr. Payne, the writer of the article
+on Linacre in the (English) _Dictionary of National Biography_, who,
+however, discredits it somewhat. The story is founded on Sir John
+Cheke's {83} account of the conversion of Linacre. It is very
+doubtful, however, whether Linacre's deprecations of the actions of
+Christians had reference to anything more than the practice of false
+swearing so forcibly denounced in the Scriptures, which had apparently
+become frequent in his time. This is Selden's version of the story as
+quoted by Dr. Johnson, who was Linacre's well-known biographer. Sir
+John Cheke in his account seems to hint that this chance reading of
+the Scriptures represented the first occasion Linacre had ever taken
+of an opportunity to read the New Testament. Perhaps we are expected
+to believe that, following the worn-out Protestant tradition of the
+old Church's discouraging of the reading of the Bible, and of the
+extreme scarcity of copies of the Book, this was the first time he had
+ever had a good opportunity to read it. This, of course, is nonsense.
+
+Linacre's early education had been obtained at the school of the
+monastery of Christ Church at Canterbury, and the monastery schools
+all used the New Testament as a text-book, and as the offices of the
+day at which the students were required to attend contain these very
+passages from Matthew which Linacre is supposed to have read for the
+first time later in life, this idea is preposterous. Besides, Linacre,
+as one of the great scholars of his time, intimate friend of Sir
+Thomas More, of Dean Colet, and Erasmus, can scarcely be thought to
+find his first copy of the Bible only when advanced in years. This is
+{84} evidently a post-Reformation addition, part of the Protestant
+tradition with regard to the supposed suppression of the Scriptures in
+pre-Reformation days, which every one acknowledges now to be without
+foundation.
+
+Linacre, as many another before and since, seems only to have realized
+the true significance of the striking passages in Matthew after life's
+experiences and disappointments had made him take more seriously the
+clauses of the Sermon on the Mount. There is much in fifth, sixth, and
+seventh Matthew that might disturb the complacent equanimity of a man
+whose main objects in life, though pursued with all honorable
+unselfishness, had been the personal satisfaction of wide scholarship
+and success in his chosen profession.
+
+With regard to Sir John Cheke's story, Dr. John Noble Johnson, who
+wrote the life of Thomas Linacre, [Footnote 7] which is accepted as
+the authoritative biography by all subsequent writers, says: "The
+whole statement carries with it an air of invention, if not on the
+part of Cheke himself, at least on that of the individual from whom he
+derives it, and it is refuted by {85} Linacre's known habits of
+moderation and the many ecclesiastical friendships which, with a
+single exception, were preserved without interruption until his death.
+It was a most frequent mode of silencing opposition to the received
+and established tenets of the Church, when arguments were wanting, to
+brand the impugner with the opprobrious titles of heretic and infidel,
+the common resource of the enemies to innovation in every age and
+country."
+
+  [Footnote 7: "The Life of Thomas Linacre," Doctor in Medicine,
+  Physician to King Henry VIII, the Tutor and Friend of Sir Thomas
+  More and the Founder of the College of Physicians in London By John
+  Noble Johnson, M D., late Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians,
+  London. Edited by Robert Graves, of the Inner Temple, Barrister at
+  Law London: Edward Lumley, Chancery Lane 1835.]
+
+The interesting result of the reflections inspired in Linacre by the
+reading of Matthew was, as has been said, the resignation of his high
+office of Royal Physician and the surrender of his wealth for the
+foundation of chairs in Medicine and Greek at Oxford and Cambridge.
+With the true liberal spirit of a man who wished to accomplish as much
+good as possible, his foundations were not limited to his own
+University of Oxford. After these educational foundations, however,
+his wealth was applied to the endowment of the Royal College of
+Physicians and its library, and to the provision of such accessories
+as might be expected to make the College a permanently useful
+institution, though left at the same time perfectly capable of that
+evolution which would suit it to subsequent times and the development
+of the science and practice of medicine.
+
+It is evident that the life of such a man can scarcely fail to be of
+personal as well as historic interest.
+
+{86}
+
+Thomas Linacre was born about 1460--the year is uncertain--at
+Canterbury. Nothing is known of his parents or their condition, though
+this very silence in their regard would seem to indicate that they
+were poor and obscure. His education was obtained at the school of the
+monastery of Christ Church, Canterbury, then presided over by the
+famous William Selling, the first of the great students of the new
+learning in England. Selling's interest seems to have helped Linacre
+to get to Oxford, where he entered at All Souls' College in 1480. In
+1484 he was elected a Fellow of the College, and seems to have
+distinguished himself in Greek, to which he applied himself with
+special assiduity under Cornelio Vitelli. Though Greek is sometimes
+spoken of as having been introduced into Western Europe only at the
+beginning of the sixteenth century, Linacre undoubtedly laid the
+foundation of that remarkable knowledge of the language which he
+displayed at a later period of his life, during his student days at
+Oxford in the last quarter of the fifteenth century.
+
+Linacre went to Italy under the most auspicious circumstances. His old
+tutor and friend at Canterbury, Selling, who had become one of the
+leading ecclesiastics of England, was sent to Rome as an Ambassador by
+Henry VII. He took Linacre with him. A number of English scholars had
+recently been in Italy and had attracted attention by their geniality,
+by their thorough-going devotion to scholarly studies, {87} and by
+their success in their work. Selling himself had made a number of firm
+friends among the Italian students of the New Learning on a former
+visit, and they now welcomed him with enthusiasm and were ready to
+receive his protégé with goodwill and provide him with the best
+opportunities for study. As a member of the train of the English
+ambassador, Linacre had an entrée to political circles that proved of
+great service to him, and put him on a distinct footing above that of
+the ordinary English student in Italy.
+
+Partly because of these and partly because of his own interesting and
+attractive personal character, Linacre had a number of special
+opportunities promptly placed at his disposal. Church dignitaries in
+Rome welcomed him and he was at once received into scholarly circles
+wherever he went in Italy. Almost as soon as he arrived in Florence,
+where he expected seriously to take up the study of Latin and Greek,
+he became the intimate friend of the family of Lorenzo de' Medici, who
+was so charmed with his personality and his readily recognizable
+talent that he chose him for the companion of his son's studies and
+received him into his own household.
+
+Politian was at this time the tutor of the young de' Medici in Latin,
+and Demetrius Chalcondylas the tutor in Greek. Under these two eminent
+scholars Linacre obtained a knowledge of Latin and Greek such as it
+would have been impossible to have obtained under any other {88}
+circumstances, and which with his talents at once stamped him as one
+of the foremost humanistic scholars in Europe. While in Florence he
+came in contact with Lorenzo the Magnificent's younger son, who
+afterwards became Leo X. The friendship thus formed lasted all during
+Linacre's lifetime, and later on he dedicated at least one of his
+books to Alexander de' Medici after the latter's elevation to the
+papal throne.
+
+It is no wonder that Linacre always looked back on Italy as the Alma
+Mater--the fond mother in the fullest sense of the term--to whom he
+owed his precious opportunities for education and the broadest
+possible culture. In after-life the expression of his feelings was
+often tinged with romantic tenderness. It is said that when he was
+crossing the Alps, on his homeward journey, leaving Italy after
+finishing his years of apprenticeship of study, standing on the
+highest point of the mountains from which he could still see the
+Italian plains, he built with his own hands a rough altar of stone and
+dedicated it to the land of his studies--the land in which he had
+spent six happy years--under the fond title of _Sancta Mater
+Studiorum_.
+
+At first, after his return from Italy, Linacre lectured on Greek at
+Oxford. Something of the influence acquired over English students and
+the good he accomplished may be appreciated from the fact that with
+Grocyn he had such students as More and the famous Dean Colet. Erasmus
+also was attracted from the Netherlands and {89} studied Greek under
+Linacre, to whom he refers in the most kindly and appreciative terms
+many times in his after life. Linacre wrote books besides lecturing,
+and his work on certain fine points in the grammar of classical
+Latinity proved a revelation to English students of the old classical
+languages, for nothing so advanced as this had ever before been
+attempted outside Italy. In one of the last years of the fifteenth
+century Linacre was appointed tutor to Prince Arthur, the elder
+brother of Henry VIII, to whom it will be remembered that Catherine of
+Aragon had been betrothed before her marriage with Henry. Arthur's
+untimely death, however, soon put an end to Linacres' tutorship.
+
+As pointed out by Einstein, the reputation of Grocyn and Linacre was
+not confined to England, but soon spread all over the Continent. After
+the death of the great Italian humanists of the fifteenth century, who
+had no worthy successors in the Italian peninsula, these two men
+became the principal European representatives of the New Learning.
+There were other distinguished men, however, such as Vives, the
+Spaniard; Lascaris, the Greek; Buda, or Budaeus, the Frenchman, and
+Erasmus, whom we have already mentioned--all of whom joined at various
+times in praising Linacre.
+
+Some of Linacre's books were published by the elder Aldus at Venice;
+and Aldus is even said to have sent his regrets on publishing his
+edition of Linacre's translation of "The Sphere {90} of Proclus," that
+the distinguished English humanist had not forwarded him others of his
+works to print. Aldus appreciatively added the hope that the eloquence
+and classic severity of style in Linacre's works and in those of the
+English humanists generally "might shame the Italian philosophers and
+scholars out of their uncultured methods of writing."
+
+Augusta Theodosia Drane (Mother Raphael), in her book on "Christian
+Schools and Scholars," gives a very pleasant picture of how Dean
+Colet, Eramus, and More used at this time to spend their afternoons
+down at Stepney (then a very charming suburb of London), of whose
+parish church Colet was the vicar. They stopped at Colet's house and
+were entertained by his mother, to whom we find pleasant references in
+the letters that passed between these scholars. Linacre was also often
+of the party, and the conversations between these greatest students
+and literary geniuses of their age would indeed be interesting
+reading, if we could only have had preserved for us, in some way, the
+table-talk of those afternoons. Erasmus particularly was noted for his
+wit and for his ability to turn aside any serious discussions that
+might arise among his friends, so as to prevent anything like
+unpleasant argument in their friendly intercourse. A favorite way
+seems to have been to insist on telling one of the old jokes from a
+classic author whose origin would naturally be presumed to be much
+later than the date the New Learning had found for it.
+
+{91}
+
+Dean Colet's mother appears to have been much more than merely the
+conventional hostess. Erasmus sketches her in her ninetieth year with
+her countenance still so fair and cheerful that you would think she
+had never shed a tear. Her son tells in some of his letters to Erasmus
+and More of how much his mother liked his visitors and how agreeable
+she found their talk and witty conversation. They seem to have
+appreciated her in turn, for in Mother Raphael's chapter on English
+Scholars of the Renaissance there is something of a description of her
+garden, in which were to be found strawberries, lately brought from
+Holland, some of the finer varieties of which Mrs. Colet possessed
+through Erasmus's acquaintance in that country. Mrs. Colet also had
+some of the damask roses that had lately been introduced into England
+by Linacre, who was naturally anxious that the mother of his friend
+should have the opportunity to raise some of the beautiful flowers he
+was so much interested in domesticating in England.
+
+It is a very charming picture, this, of the early humanists in
+England, and very different from what might easily be imagined by
+those unfamiliar with the details of the life of the period. Linacre
+was later to give up his worldly emoluments and honors and become a
+clergyman, in order to do good and at the same time satisfy his own
+craving for self-abnegation. More was to rise to the highest positions
+in England, and then for conscience' sake was to suffer death {92}
+rather than yield to the wishes of his king in a matter in which he
+saw principle involved. Dean Colet himself was to be the ornament of
+the English clergy and the model of the scholar clergyman of the eve
+of the Reformation, to whom many generations were to look back as a
+worthy object of reverence. Erasmus was to become involved first with
+and then against Luther, and to be offered a cardinal's hat before his
+death. His work, like Newman's, was done entirely in the intellectual
+field. Meantime, in the morning of life, all of them were enjoying the
+pleasures of friendly intercourse and the charms of domestic felicity
+under circumstances that showed that their study of humanism and their
+admiration for the classics impaired none of their sympathetic
+humanity or their appreciation of the innocent delights of the
+present.
+
+For us, however, Linacre's most interesting biographic details are
+those which relate to medicine, for, besides his humanistic studies
+while in Italy, Linacre graduated in medicine, obtaining the degree of
+doctor at Padua. The memory of the brilliant disputation which he
+sustained in the presence of the medical faculty in order to obtain
+his degree is still one of the precious traditions in the medical
+school of Padua. He does not seem to have considered his medical
+education finished, however, by the mere fact of having obtained his
+doctor's degree, and there is a tradition of his having studied later
+at Vicenza under Nicholas Leonicenus, the most celebrated {93}
+physician and scholar in Italy at the end of the fifteenth century,
+who many years afterwards referred with pardonable pride to the fact
+that he had been Linacre's teacher in medicine.
+
+It may seem strange to many that Linacre, with all his knowledge of
+the classics, should have devoted himself for so many years to the
+study of medicine in addition to his humanistic studies. It must not
+be forgotten, however, that the revival of the classics of Latin and
+Greek brought with it a renewed knowledge of the great Latin and Greek
+fathers of medicine, Hippocrates and Galen. This had a wonderful
+effect in inspiring the medical students of the time with renewed
+enthusiasm for the work in which they were engaged. A knowledge of the
+classics led to the restoration of the study of anatomy, botany, and
+of clinical medicine, which had been neglected in the midst of
+application to the Arabian writers in medicine during the preceding
+centuries. The restoration of the classics made of medicine a
+progressive science in which every student felt the possibility of
+making great discoveries that would endure not only for his own
+reputation but for the benefit of humanity.
+
+These thoughts seem to have attracted many promising young men to the
+study of medicine. The result was a period of writing and active
+observation in medicine that undoubtedly makes this one of the most
+important of literary medical eras. Some idea of the activity of the
+writers of the time can be gathered from the important {94} medical
+books--most of them large folios which were printed during the last
+half of the sixteenth century in Italy. There is a series of these
+books to be seen in one of the cases of the library of the
+Surgeon-General at Washington, which, though by no means complete,
+must be a source of never-ending surprise to those who are apt to
+think of this period as a _saison morte_ in medical literature.
+
+There must have been an extremely great interest in medicine to
+justify all this printing. Some of the books are among the real
+incunabula of the art of printing. For instance, in 1474 there was
+published at Bologna De Manfredi's "Liber de Homine;" at Venice, in
+1476, Petrus de Albano's work on medicine; and in the next twenty
+years from the same home of printing there came large tomes by
+Angelata, a translation of Celsus, and Aurelius Cornelius and
+Articellus's "Thesaurus Medicorum Veterum," besides several
+translations of Avicenna and Platina's work "De Honesta Voluptate et
+Valetudine." At Ferrara, Arculanus's great work was published, while
+at Modena there appeared the "Hortus Sanitatis," or Garden of Health,
+whose author was J. Cuba. There were also translations from other
+Arabian authors on medicine in addition to Avicenna, notably a
+translation of Rhazes Abu Bekr Muhammed Ben Zankariah Abrazi, a
+distinguished writer among the Arabian physicians of the Middle Ages.
+
+Linacre's translations of Galen remain still the {95} standard, and
+they have been reprinted many times. As Erasmus once wrote to a
+friend, in sending some of these books of Galen, "I present you with
+the works of Galen, now by the help of Linacre speaking better Latin
+than they ever before spoke Greek." Linacre also translated Aristotle
+into Latin, and Erasmus paid them the high compliment of saying that
+Linacre's Latin was as lucid, as straightforward, and as thoroughly
+intelligible as was Aristotle's Greek. Of the translations of
+Aristotle unfortunately none is extant. Of Galen we have the "De
+Sanitate Tuenda," the "Methodus Medendi," the "De Symptomatum
+Differentiis et Causis," and the "De Pulsuum Usu." The latter
+particularly is a noteworthy monograph on an important subject, in
+which Galen's observations were of great value. Under the title, "The
+Significance of the Pulse," it has been translated into English, and
+has influenced many generations of English medical men.
+
+While we have very few remains of Linacre's work as a physician, there
+seems to be no doubt that he was considered by all those best capable
+of judging, to stand at the head of his profession in England. To his
+care, as one of his biographers remarked, was committed the health of
+the foremost in Church and State. Besides being the Royal Physician,
+he was the regular medical attendant of Cardinal Wolsey, of Archbishop
+Warham, the Primate of England, of Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester,
+the Keeper {96} of the Privy Seal, and of Sir Reginald Bray, Knight of
+the Garter and Lord High Treasurer, and of all of the famous scholars
+of England.
+
+Erasmus, whilst absent in France, writes to give him an account of his
+feelings, and begs him to prescribe for him, as he knows no one else
+to whom he can turn with equal confidence. After a voyage across the
+channel, during which he had been four days at sea--making a passage
+by the way that now takes less than two hours--Erasmus describes his
+condition, his headache, with the glands behind his ears swollen, his
+temples throbbing, a constant buzzing in his ears; and laments that no
+Linacre was at hand to restore him to health by skilful advice. In a
+subsequent letter he writes from Paris to ask for a copy of a
+prescription given him while in London by Linacre, but which a stupid
+servant had left at the apothecary shop, so that Erasmus could not
+have it filled in Paris.
+
+An instance of his skill in prognosis, the most difficult part of the
+practice of medicine according to Hippocrates and all subsequent
+authorities, is cited by all his biographers, with regard to his
+friend William Lily, the grammarian. Lily was suffering from a
+malignant tumor involving the hip, which surgeons in consultation had
+decided should be removed. Linacre plainly foretold that its removal
+would surely prove fatal, and the event verified his unfavorable
+prognosis. Generally it seems to have been considered that his opinion
+was of great value in all {97} serious matters, and it was eagerly
+sought for. Some of the nobility and clergy of the time came even from
+the Continent over to England by no means an easy journey, even for a
+healthy man in those days, as can be appreciated from Erasmus's
+experience just cited--in order to obtain Linacre's opinion.
+
+One of Erasmus's letters to Billibaldus Pirckheimer contains a
+particular account of the method of treatment by which he was relieved
+of his severe pain under Linacre's direction in a very tormenting
+attack of renal colic. The details, especially the use of poultice
+applications as hot as could be borne, show that Linacre thoroughly
+understood the use of heat in the relaxation of spasm, while his
+careful preparation of the remedies to be employed in the presence of
+the patient himself would seem to show that he had a very high
+appreciation of how much the mental state of the patient and the
+attitude of expectancy thus awakened may have in giving relief even in
+cases of severe pain.
+
+The only medical writings of Linacre's that we possess are
+translations. We have said already that the reversion at the end of
+the fifteenth century to the classical authorities in medicine
+undoubtedly did much to introduce the observant phase of medical
+science, which had its highest expression in Vesalius at the beginning
+of the sixteenth century and continued to flourish so fruitfully
+during the next two centuries at most of the Italian universities. His
+translations then {98} were of themselves more suggestive
+contributions to medicine than would perhaps have been any even of his
+original observations, since the mind of his generation was not ready
+as yet to be influenced by discoveries made by contemporaries.
+
+The best proof of Linacre's great practical interest in medicine is
+his realization of the need for the Royal College of Physicians and
+his arrangements for it.
+
+The Roll of the College, which comprises biographical sketches of all
+the eminent physicians whose names are recorded in the annals from the
+foundation of the College in 1518, and is published under the
+authority of the College itself, contains the best tribute to
+Linacre's work that can possibly be paid. It says: "The most
+magnificent of Linacre's labors was the design of the Royal College of
+Physicians of London--a standing monument of the enlightened views
+and generosity of its projectors. In the execution of it Linacre stood
+alone, for the munificence of the Crown was limited to a grant of
+letters patent; whilst the expenses and provision of the College was
+left to be defrayed out of his own means, or of those who were
+associated with him in its foundation." "In the year 1518," says Dr.
+Johnson, [Footnote 8] "when Linacre's scheme was carried into effect,
+the practice of medicine was scarcely elevated above that of the
+mechanical arts, nor was the majority of its practitioners {99} among
+the laity better instructed than the mechanics by whom these arts were
+exercised. With the diffusion of learning to the republics and states
+of Italy, establishments solely for the advancement of science had
+been formed with success; but no society devoted to the interests of
+learning yet existed in England, unfettered by a union with the
+hierarchy, or exempted from the rigors and seclusions which were
+imposed upon its members as the necessary obligation of a monastic and
+religious life. In reflecting on the advantages which had been derived
+from these institutions, Linacre did not forget the impossibility of
+adapting rules and regulations which accorded with the state of
+society in the Middle Ages to the improved state of learning in his
+own, and his plans were avowedly modelled on some similar community of
+which many cities of Italy afforded rather striking examples."
+
+  [Footnote 8: _Life of Linacre_, London, 1835.]
+
+Some idea of the state into which the practice of medicine had fallen
+in England before Linacre's foundation of the Royal College of
+Physicians may be gathered from the words of the charter of the
+College. "Before this period a great multitude of ignorant persons, of
+whom the greater part had no insight into physic, nor into any other
+kind of learning--some could not even read the letters on the book, so
+far forth that common artificers as smiths, weavers and women--boldly
+and accustomably took upon them great cures to the high displeasure of
+God, great infamy to the faculty, and the grievous hurt, {100} damage,
+and destruction of many of the King's liege people."
+
+After the foundation of the College there was a definite way of
+deciding formally who were, or were not, legally licensed to practise.
+As a consequence, when serious malpractice came to public notice,
+those without a license were occasionally treated in the most summary
+manner. Stowe, in his chronicles, gives a very vivid and picturesque
+description of the treatment of one of these quacks who had been
+especially flagrant in his imposition upon the people. A counterfeit
+doctor was set on horseback, his face to the horse's tail, the tail
+being forced into his hand as a bridle, a collar of jordans about his
+neck, a whetstone on his breast, and so led through the city of London
+with ringing of basins, and banished. "Such deceivers," continued the
+old chronicler, "no doubt are many, who being never trained up in
+reading or practice of physics and Chirurgery do boast to do great
+cures, especially upon women, as to make them straight that before
+were crooked, corbed, or crumped in any part of their bodies and other
+such things. But the contrary is true. For some have received gold
+when they have better deserved the whetstone." [Footnote 9] Human
+nature has not changed very much in the {101} four centuries since
+Linacre's foundation, and while the model that he set in the matter of
+providing a proper licensing body for physicians has done something to
+lessen the evils complained of, the abuses still remain; and the old
+chronicler will find in our time not a few who, in his opinion, might
+deserve the whetstone. We can scarcely realize how much Linacre
+accomplished by means of the Royal College of Physicians, or how great
+was the organizing spirit of the man to enable him to recognize the
+best way out of the chaos of medical practice in his time.
+
+  [Footnote 9: "To get the whetstone" is an old English expression,
+  meaning to take the prize for lying. It is derived from the old
+  custom of driving rogues, whose wits were too sharp, out of town
+  with a whetstone around their necks.]
+
+"The wisdom of Linacre's plan," wrote Dr. Friend, "speaks for itself.
+His scheme, without doubt, was not only to create a good understanding
+and unanimity among his own profession (which of itself was an
+excellent thought), but to make them more useful to the public. And he
+imagined that by separating them from the vulgar empirics and setting
+them upon such a reputable foot of distinction, there would always
+arise a spirit of emulation among men liberally educated, which would
+animate them in pursuing their inquiries into the nature of diseases
+and the methods of cure for the benefit of mankind; and perhaps no
+founder ever had the good fortune to have his designs succeed more to
+his wish."
+
+His plans with regard to the teaching of medicine at the two great
+English Universities did not succeed so well, but that was the fault
+not of Linacre nor of the directions left in his will, but {102} of
+the times, which were awry for educational matters. Notwithstanding
+Linacre's bequest of funds for two professorships at Oxford and one at
+Cambridge, it is typical of the times that the chairs were not founded
+for many years. During Henry VIII's time, the great effort of
+government was not to encourage new foundations but to break up old
+ones, in order to obtain money for the royal treasury, so that
+educational institutions of all kinds suffered eclipse. The first
+formal action with regard to the Linacre bequest was taken in the
+third year of Edward VI. Two lectureships were established in Merton
+College, Oxford, and one in St. John's College, Cambridge. Linacre's
+idea had been that these foundations should be University
+lectureships, but Anthony Wood says that the University had lost in
+prestige so much during Henry VIII's time that it was considered
+preferable to attach the lectureships to Merton College, which had
+considerable reputation because of its medical school. During
+Elizabeth's time these Linacre lectureships sank to be sinecures and
+for nearly a hundred years served but for the support of a fellowship.
+The Oxford foundation was revived in 1856 by the University
+Commissioners, and the present splendid foundation of the lectures in
+physiology bears Linacre's name in honor of his original grant.
+
+At the age of about fifty Linacre was ordained priest. His idea in
+becoming a clergyman, as confessed in letters to his friends, was
+partly in {103} order to obtain leisure for his favorite studies, but
+also out of the desire to give himself up to something other than the
+mere worldly pursuits in which he had been occupied during all his
+previous life. His biographer, Dr. Johnson, says: "In examining the
+motives of this choice of Linacre's, it would seem that he was guided
+less by the expectation of dignity and preferment than by the desire
+of retirement and of rendering himself acquainted with those writings
+which might afford him consolation in old age and relief from the
+infirmities which a life of assiduous study and application had tended
+to produce."
+
+The precise time of Linacre's ordination is not known, nor is it
+certain whether he was ordained by Archbishop Warham of Canterbury, or
+by Cardinal Wolsey, the Archbishop of York. He received his first
+clerical appointment from Warham, by whom he was collated to the
+rectory of Mersham in Kent. He held this place scarcely a month, but
+his resignation was followed by his installation as prebend in the
+Cathedral of Wells, and by an admission to the Church of Hawkhurst in
+Kent, which he held until the year of his death. Seven years later he
+was made prebend in the Collegiate Chapel of St. Stephen, Westminster,
+and in the following year he became prebendary of South Newbold in the
+Church of York. This was in the year 1518. In the following year he
+received the dignified and lucrative appointment of presenter to the
+Cathedral of York, for which he was indebted to Cardinal Wolsey, to
+whom {104} about this time he dedicated his translation of Galen "On
+the Use of the Pulse." He seems also to have held several other
+benefices during the later years of his life, although some of them
+were resigned within so short a time as to make it difficult to
+understand why he should have accepted them, since the expenses of
+institution must have exceeded the profits which were derived from
+them during the period of possession. Linacre owed his clerical
+opportunities during the last years of his life particularly to
+Archbishop Warham, who, as ambassador, primate, and chancellor,
+occupied a large and honorable place in the history of the times.
+Erasmus says of him in one of his letters: "Such were his vigilance
+and attention in all matters relating to religion and to the offices
+of the Church that no concern which was foreign to them seemed ever to
+distract him. He had sufficient time for a scrupulous performance of
+the accustomed exercises of prayer, for the almost daily celebration
+of the Mass, for twice or thrice hearing divine service, for
+determining suits, for receiving embassies, for consultation with the
+king when matters of moment required his presence, for the visitation
+of churches when regulation was needed, for the welcome of frequently
+two hundred guests, and lastly for a literary leisure."
+
+As the close friend of such men, it is evident that Linacre must have
+accomplished much good as a clergyman; and it seems not unlikely that
+his frequent changes of rectorship were rather {105} due to the fact
+that the Primate wished to make use of his influence in various parts
+of his diocese for the benefit of religion than for any personal
+motives on Linacre's part, who, in order to enter the service of the
+Church, had given up so much more than he could expect as a clergyman.
+
+Linacre as a clergyman continued to deserve the goodwill and esteem of
+all his former friends, and seems to have made many new ones. At the
+time of his death he was one of the most honored individuals in
+England. All of his biographers are agreed in stating that he was the
+representative Englishman of his time, looked up to by all his
+contemporaries, respected and admired by those who had not the
+opportunity of his intimate acquaintance, and heartily loved by
+friends, who were themselves some of the best men of the time.
+
+The concluding paragraph of the appreciation of Linacre's character in
+_Lives of British Physicians_ [Footnote 10] is as follows: "To sum up
+his character it was said of him that no Englishman of his day had had
+such famous masters, namely, Demetrius and Politian of Florence; such
+noble patrons, Lorenzo de' Medici, Henry VII and Henry VIII; such
+high-born scholars, the Prince Arthur and Princess Mary of England; or
+such learned friends, for amongst the latter were to be enumerated
+Erasmus, Melanchthon, Latimer, {106} Tonstal, and Sir Thomas More."
+His biographer might have added the names of others of the
+pre-Reformation period, men of culture and character whose merits only
+the historical researches of recent years have brought out--Prior
+Selling, Dean Colet (though his friendship was unfortunately
+interrupted), Archbishop Warham, Cardinal Wolsey, Grocyn, and further
+scholars and churchmen.
+
+  [Footnote 10: London. John Murray, 1830.]
+
+Dr. J. F. Payne, in summing up the opinion of Linacre held by his
+contemporaries, in the "Dictionary of National Biography" (British),
+pays a high tribute to the man. "Linacre's personal character was
+highly esteemed by his contemporaries. He was evidently capable of
+absolute devotion to a great cause, animated by genuine public spirit
+and a boundless zeal for learning." Erasmus sketches him humorously in
+the "Encomium Moriae" (The Praise of Foolishness)--with a play on the
+word _Moriae_ in reference to his great friend, Thomas More, of whom
+Erasmus thought so much--showing him a tireless student. The
+distinguished foreign scholar, however, considered Linacre as an
+enthusiast in recondite studies, but no mere pedant. Dr. Payne closes
+his appreciation with these words: "Linacre had, it would seem, no
+enemies."
+
+Caius, the distinguished English physician and scholar, himself one of
+the best known members of the Royal College of Physicians and the
+founder of Caius College, Cambridge, sketches {107} Linacre's
+character (he had as a young man known him personally) in very
+sympathetic vein. As Dr. Caius was one of the greatest Englishmen of
+his time in the middle of the sixteenth century, his opinion must
+carry great weight. It is to him that we owe the famous epitaph that
+for long in old St. Paul's, London, was to be read on Linacre's
+tombstone:--
+
+  "_Fraudes dolosque mire perosus, fidus amicis, omnibus ordinibus
+  juxta carus_. A stern hater of deceit and underhand ways, faithful
+  to his friends, equally dear to all classes,"
+
+Surely this is a worthy tribute to the great physician, clergyman,
+scholar, and philanthropist of the eve of the Reformation in England.
+
+
+{108}
+
+V.
+
+FATHER KIRCHER, S.J.:
+
+SCIENTIST, ORIENTALIST, AND COLLECTOR.
+
+{109}
+
+Oportet autem neque recentiores viros in his fraudare quae vel
+repererunt vel recte secuti sunt; et tamen ea quae apud antiquiores
+aliquos posita sunt auctoribus suis reddere.--CELSUS _de Medicina_.
+
+
+{110}
+
+[Illustration: ATHANASIUS KIRCHER]
+
+
+{111}
+
+
+V.
+
+
+FATHER KIRCHER, S.J.: SCIENTIST, ORIENTALIST, AND COLLECTOR.
+
+
+Except in the minds of the unconquerably intolerant, the Galileo
+controversy has in recent years settled down to occupy something of
+its proper place in the history of the supposed conflict between
+religion and science. In touching the subject in the life of
+Copernicus we suggested that it has come to be generally recognized,
+as M. Bertrand, the perpetual Secretary of the Paris Academy of
+Sciences, himself a distinguished mathematician and historian,
+declares, that "the great lesson for those who would wish to oppose
+reason with violence was clearly to be read in Galileo's story, and
+the scandal of his condemnation was learned without any profound
+sorrow to Galileo himself; and his long life, considered as a whole,
+was the most serene and enviable in the history of science." Somehow,
+notwithstanding the directness of this declaration, there is still
+left in the minds of many an impression rather difficult to eradicate
+that there was definite, persistent opposition to everything
+associated with scientific progress among the churchmen of the time of
+Galileo.
+
+Perhaps no better answer to this unfortunate, because absolutely
+untrue, impression could be in {112} formulated than is to be found in
+a sketch of the career of Father Athanasius Kircher, the distinguished
+Jesuit who for so many years occupied himself with nearly every branch
+of science in Rome, under the fostering care of the Church. He had
+been Professor of Physics, Mathematics, and Oriental Languages at
+Würzburg, but was driven from there by the disturbances incident to
+the Thirty Years' War, in 1631. He continued his scientific
+investigation at Avignon. From here, within two years after Galileo's
+trial in 1635, he was, through the influence of Cardinal Barberini,
+summoned to Rome, where he devoted himself to mathematics at first,
+and then to every branch of science, as well as the Oriental
+languages, not only with the approval, but also with the most liberal
+pecuniary aid from the ecclesiastical authorities of the papal court
+and city.
+
+Some idea of the breadth of Father Kircher's scientific sympathy and
+his genius for scientific observation and discovery, which amounted
+almost to intuition, may be gathered from the fact that to him we owe
+the first definite statement of the germ theory of disease; and he
+seems to have been the first to recognize the presence of what are now
+called microbes. At the same time his works on magnetism contained not
+only all the knowledge of his own time, but also some wonderful
+suggestions as to the possibilities of the development of this
+science. His studies with regard to light are almost as epochal as
+those with regard to magnetism. Besides these, he {113} was the first
+to find any clue to the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and yet found time to
+write a geographical work on Latium, the country surrounding Rome, and
+to make collections for his museum which rendered it in its time the
+best scientific collection in the world. It may very well indeed be
+said that visitors to Rome with scientific tendencies found as much
+that was suggestive in Father Kircher's museum--the "Kircherianum," as
+it came to be called--as artists and sculptors and architects found in
+the Vatican collections of the papal city.
+
+All of this work was accomplished within the half century after
+Galileo's trial, for Father Kircher died in 1680, at the age of
+seventy-eight, having lived, as so many of the great scientists have
+done, a long life in the midst of the most persistent activity.
+Kircher, more than perhaps any other, can be said to be the founder of
+modern natural science. Before any one else, in a practical way, he
+realized the necessity for the collection of an immense amount of
+data, if science was to be founded on the broad, firm foundation of
+observed truth. The principle which had been announced by Bacon in the
+"Novum Organon"--"to take all that comes rather than to choose, and to
+heap up rather than to register"--was never carried out as fully as by
+Father Kircher. As Edmund Gosse said in the June number of _Harper's_,
+1904, "Bacon had started a great idea, but he had not carried it out.
+He is not the founder, he is the prophet {114} of modern physical
+science. To be in direct touch with nature, to adventure in the
+unexplored fields of knowledge, and to do this by carrying out an
+endless course of slow and sure experiments, this was the counsel of
+the 'Novum Organon.'" Bacon died in 1626, and scarcely more than a
+decade had passed before Kircher was carrying out the work thus
+outlined by the English philosopher in a way that was surprisingly
+successful, even looked at from the standpoint of our modern science.
+Needless to say, however, it was not because of Bacon's suggestion
+that he did so, for it is more than doubtful whether he knew of
+Bacon's writings until long after the lines of his life-work had been
+traced by his own inquiring spirit. The fulness of time had come. The
+inductive philosophy was in the air. Bacon's formulae, which the
+English philosopher never practically applied, and Father Kircher's
+assiduous collection of data, were but expressions of the spirit of
+the times. How faithfully the work of the first modern inductive
+scientist was accomplished we shall see.
+
+It may be easily imagined that a certain interest in Father Kircher,
+apart from his scientific attainments and the desire to show how much
+and how successful was the attention given to natural science by
+churchmen about the time of the Galileo controversy, might influence
+this judgment of the distinguished Jesuit's scientific accomplishments.
+With regard to his discoveries in medicine especially, and above all
+his {115} announcement of the microbic origin of contagious disease,
+it may be thought that this was a mere chance expression and not at
+all the result of serious scientific conclusions. Tyndall, however,
+the distinguished English physicist, would not be the one to give
+credit for scientific discoveries, and to a clergyman in a distant
+century, unless there was definite evidence of the discovery. It is
+not generally known that to the great English physicist we owe the
+almost absolute demonstration of the impossibility of spontaneous
+generation, together with a series of studies showing the existence
+everywhere in the atmosphere of minute forms of life to which
+fermentative changes and also the infectious diseases--though at that
+time this was only a probability--are to be attributed. When Tyndall
+was reviewing, in the midst of the controversy over spontaneous
+generation, the question of the microbic origin of disease, he said:
+"Side by side with many other theories has run the germ theory of
+epidemic disease. The notion was expressed by Kircher and favored by
+Linnaeus, that epidemic diseases may be due to germs which enter the
+body and produce disturbance by the development within the body of
+parasitic forms of life."
+
+How much attention Father Kircher's book on the pest or plague, in
+which his theory of the micro-organismal origin of disease is put
+forward, attracted from the medical profession can be understood from
+the fact that it was submitted to three of the most distinguished
+physicians in {116} Rome before being printed, and that their
+testimony to its value as a contribution to medicine prefaced the
+first edition. They are not sparing in their praise of it. Dr. Joseph
+Benedict Sinibaldus, who was the Professor of the Practice of Medicine
+in the Roman University at the time, says that "Father Kircher's book
+not only contains an excellent resume of all that is known about the
+pest or plague, but also as many valuable hints and suggestions on the
+origin and spread of the disease, which had never before been made."
+He considers it a very wonderful thing that a non-medical man should
+have been able to place himself so thoroughly in touch with the
+present state of medicine in respect to this disease and then point
+out the conditions of future progress.
+
+Dr. Paul Zachias, who was a distinguished Roman physician of the time,
+said that he had long known Father Kircher as an eminent writer on
+other subjects, but that after reading his book on the pest he must
+consider him also distinguished in medical writing. He says: "While he
+has set his hand at other's harvests, he has done it with so much
+wisdom and prudence as to win the admiration of the harvesters already
+in the field." He adds that there can be no doubt that it would be a
+source of profit for medical men to read this little book and that it
+will undoubtedly prove beneficial to future generations. Testimony of
+another kind to the value of Father Kircher's book is to be found in
+the fact {117} that within a half-year after its publication in Latin
+it appeared in several other languages. It is too much the custom of
+these modern times to consider that scientific progress in the
+centuries before our own and its immediate predecessor was likely to
+attract little attention for many years, and was especially slow to
+make its way into foreign countries. Anything, however, of real
+importance in science took but a very short time to travel from one
+country to another in Europe in the seventeenth century, and the fact
+that scientific men generally used Latin as a common language made the
+spread of discoveries and speculations much easier even than at the
+present time. Our increased means of communication have really only
+served to allow sensational announcements of a progress in
+science--which is usually no progress at all--to be spread quite as
+effectually in modern times as were real advances in the older days.
+
+There is no good account of Father Kircher's life available in
+English, and it has seemed only proper that the more important at
+least of the details of the life of the man who thus anticipated the
+beginnings of modern bacteriology and of the relations of
+micro-organisms to disease, should not be left in obscurity. His life
+history is all the more interesting and important because it
+illustrates the interest of the churchmen of the time, and especially
+of the Roman ecclesiastical authorities, in all forms of science; for
+Father Kircher is undoubtedly one of the greatest scholars of {118}
+history and one of the scientific geniuses in whose works can be
+found, as the result of some wonderful principles of intuition
+incomprehensible to the slower intellectual operations of ordinary
+men, anticipations of many of the discoveries of the after-time. There
+is scarcely a modern science he did not touch upon, and nothing that
+he touched did he fail to illuminate. His magnificent collections in
+the museum of the Roman College demonstrate very well his extremely
+wide interests in all scientific matters.
+
+The history of Father Kircher's career furnishes perhaps the best
+possible refutation of the oft-repeated slander that Jesuit education
+was narrow and was so founded upon and rooted in authority that
+original research and investigation, in scientific matters
+particularly, were impossible, and that it utterly failed to encourage
+new discoveries of any kind. As a matter of fact, Kircher was not only
+not hampered in his work by his superiors or by the ecclesiastical
+authorities, but the respect in which he was held at Rome enabled him
+to use the influence of the Church and of great churchmen all over the
+world, with the best possible effect, for the assembling at the Roman
+College of objects of the most various kinds, illustrating especially
+the modern sciences of archeology, ethnology, and paleontology,
+besides Egyptian and Assyrian history.
+
+Athanasius Kircher was born 2 May, 1602, at Geisa, near Fulda, in
+South Germany. He was educated at the Jesuit College of Fulda, and at
+{119} the early age of sixteen, having completed his college course,
+entered the Jesuit novitiate at Mainz. After his novitiate he
+continued his philosophical and classical studies at Paderborn and
+completed his years of scholastic teaching in various cities of South
+Germany--Munster, Cologne, and Coblenz--finally finishing his
+education by theological studies at Cologne and Mainz.
+
+Toward the end of the third decade of the seventeenth century he
+became Professor of Philosophy and Mathematics at Würzburg. Here his
+interest in Oriental languages began, and he established a special
+course in this subject at the University of Würzburg. During the
+Thirty Years' War, however, the invasion of Germany very seriously
+disturbed university work, and finally in 1631 Father Kircher was sent
+by his superiors to Avignon in South France, where he continued his
+teaching some four years, attracting no little attention by his wide
+interest in many sciences and by various scientific works that showed
+him to be a man of very broad genius.
+
+In 1635, through the influence of Cardinal Barberini, he was summoned
+to Rome, where he became Professor of Mathematics and Oriental
+Languages in the famous Roman College of the Jesuits, which was
+considered at that time one of the greatest educational institutions
+in the world. His interest in science, however, was not lessened by
+teaching duties that would apparently have demanded all his time; and,
+as we shall see, he continued to issue books on the most diverse {120}
+scientific subjects, most of them illustrated by absolutely new
+experimental observations and all of them attracting widespread
+attention.
+
+Father Kircher began his career as a writer on science at the early
+age of twenty-seven, when he issued his first work on magnetism. The
+title of this volume, "Ars Magnesia tum Theorematice tum Problematice
+Proposita," shows that the subject was not treated entirely from a
+speculative standpoint. Indeed, in the preface he states that he hopes
+that the principal value of the book will be found in the fact that
+the knowledge of magnetism is presented by a new method, with special
+demonstrations, and that the conclusions are confirmed by various
+practical uses and long-continued experience with magnets of various
+kinds.
+
+Although it may be a source of great surprise, Father Kircher's genius
+was essentially experimental. He has been spoken of not infrequently
+as a man who collected the scientific information of his time in such
+a way as to display, as says the _Encyclopedia Britannica_, "a wide
+and varied learning, but that he was a man singularly devoid of
+judgment and critical discernment." He was in some respects the direct
+opposite of the opinion thus expressed, since his learning was always
+of a practical character, and there are very few subjects in this
+writing which he has not himself illustrated by means of new and
+ingenious experiments.
+
+Perhaps the best possible proof of this is to be {121} found in the
+fact that his second scientific work was on the construction of
+sun-dials, and that one of the discoveries he himself considered most
+valuable was the invention of a calculating machine, as well as of a
+complicated arrangement for illustrating the positions of the stars in
+the heavens. He constructed, moreover, a large burning-glass in order
+to demonstrate the possibility of the story told of Archimedes, that
+he had succeeded in burning the enemy's ships in the harbor at
+Syracuse by means of a large lens.
+
+But Father Kircher's surest claim to being a practical genius is to be
+found in his invention of the magic lantern. It was another Jesuit,
+Aquilonius, in his work on optics, issued in 1613, who had first
+sought to explain how the two pictures presented to the two eyes are
+fused into one, and it was in a practical demonstration of this by
+means of lenses that Kircher hit upon the invention of the projecting
+stereoscope.
+
+After his call to Rome our subject continued his work on magnetism,
+and in 1641 issued a further treatise on the subject called "Magnes"
+or "De Arte Magnetica." While he continued to teach Oriental languages
+and issued in 1644 a book with the title "Lingua AEgyptiaca
+Restituta," he also continued to apply himself especially to the
+development of physical science. Accordingly in 1645 there appeared
+his volume "Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae." This was a treatise on light,
+illustrated, as was his treatise on magnetism, by many original
+experiments and demonstrations.
+
+{122}
+
+During the five years until 1650 the department of acoustics came
+under his consideration, so that in that year we have from his pen a
+treatise called "Musurgia Universalis," with the subtitle, "The Art of
+Harmony and Discord; a treatise on the whole doctrine of sound with
+the philosophy of music treated from the standpoint of practical as
+well as theoretic science." During the next five years astronomy was
+his special hobby, and the result was in 1656 a treatise on astronomy
+called "Iter Celeste." This contained a description of the earth and
+the heavens and discussed the nature of the fixed and moving stars,
+with various considerations as to the composition and structure of
+these bodies. A second volume on this subject appeared in 1660.
+
+The variety of Father Kircher's interests in science was not yet
+exhausted, however. Five years after the completion of his two volumes
+on astronomy there came one on "Mundus Subterraneus." This treated of
+the modern subjects of geology, metallurgy, and mineralogy, as well as
+the chemistry of minerals. It also contained a treatise on animals
+that live under the ground, and on insects. This was considered one of
+the author's greatest books, and the whole of it was translated into
+French, whilst abstracts from it, especially the chapters on poisons,
+appeared in most of the other languages of Europe. Part of it was
+translated even into English, though seventeenth-century Englishmen
+were loath to draw their inspiration from Jesuit writers.
+
+{123}
+
+Jesuits were, however, at this time generally acknowledged on the
+Continent to be leaders in every department of thought, sympathetic
+coadjutors in every step in scientific progress. Strange as it may
+appear to those who will not understand the Jesuit spirit of love for
+learning, two of the most distinguished scientists whose names are
+immortal in the history of physical sciences in different departments
+during this century, Kepler and Harvey, were on intimate terms of
+friendship with the Jesuits of Germany. Harvey, on the occasion of a
+visit to the Continent, stopped for a prolonged visit with the Jesuits
+at Cologne, so that some of his English friends joked him about the
+possibility of his making converts of the Jesuits. These witticisms,
+however, did not seem to distract Harvey very much, for he returned on
+a subsequent occasion to spend some further days with his Jesuit
+scientific friends along the Rhine.
+
+In the meantime Father Kircher was issuing notable books on his always
+favorite subject of the Oriental languages. In 1650 there appeared
+"Obeliscus Pamphilius," containing an explanation of the hieroglyphics
+to be found on the obelisk which by the order of Innocent X, a member
+of the Pamfili family, was placed in the Piazza Navona by Bernini.
+This is no mere pamphlet, as might be thought, but a book of 560
+pages. In 1652 there appeared "OEdipus AEgyptiacus," that is, the
+revealer of the sphinx-like riddle of the Egyptian ancient languages.
+In 1653 a second volume of this appeared, and in 1655 a third {124}
+volume. It was considered so important that it was translated into
+Russian and other Slav languages, besides several other European
+languages. His book, "Lingua AEgyptiaca Restituta," which appeared in
+1644, when Kircher was forty-two years of age, is considered to be of
+value yet in the study of Oriental languages, and was dedicated to the
+patron, Emperor Ferdinand III, whose liberality made its publication
+possible.
+
+It is often a subject for conjecture just how science was studied and
+taught in centuries before the nineteenth, and just what text-books
+were employed. A little familiarity with Father Kircher's
+publications, however, will show that there was plenty of very
+suitable material for text-books to be found in his works. Under his
+own direction, what at the present time would be called a text-book of
+physics, but which at that time was called "Physiologia
+Experimentalis," was issued, containing all the experimental and
+demonstrative parts of his various books on chemistry, physics, music,
+magnetism, and mechanics, as well as acoustics and optics. This formed
+the groundwork of most text-books of science for a full century
+afterwards. Indeed, until the beginning of the distinctly modern
+science of chemistry with the discoveries of Priestley and Lavoisier,
+there was to be little added of serious import in science.
+
+Perhaps the most commendable feature of Father Kircher's books is the
+fact that he himself seems never to have considered that he had {125}
+exhausted a subject. The first work he published was on magnetism.
+Some twelve years later he returned to the subject, and wrote a more
+extensive work, containing many improvements over the first volume.
+The same thing is true of his studies in sound. In 1650, when not
+quite fifty years of age, he issued his "Musurgia Universalis," a
+sub-title of which stated that it contains the whole doctrine of sound
+and the practical and theoretical philosophy of music. A little over
+twenty years later, however, he published the "Phonurgia Nova," the
+sub-title of which showed that it was mainly concerned with the
+experimental demonstration of various truths in acoustics and with the
+development of the doctrine he had originally stated in the
+"Musurgia."
+
+It is no wonder that his contemporaries spoke of him as the _Doctor
+centum artium_--the teacher of a hundred arts--for there was
+practically no branch of scientific knowledge in his time in which he
+was not expert. Scientific visitors to Rome always considered it one
+of the privileges of their stay in the papal city to have the
+opportunity to meet Father Kircher, and it was thought a very great
+honor to be shown through his museum by himself.
+
+Of course, it is difficult for present-day scientists to imagine a man
+exhausting the whole round of science in this way. Many who have read
+but little more than the titles of Father Kircher's many books are
+accordingly prone to speak of him as a mine of information, but
+without any {126} proper critical judgment. He has succeeded,
+according to them, in heaping together an immense amount of
+information, but it is of the most disparate value. There is no doubt
+that he took account of many things in science that are manifestly
+absurd. Astrology, for instance, had not, in his time, gone out of
+fashion entirely, and he refers many events in men's lives to the
+influence of the stars. He even made rules for astrological
+predictions, and his astronomical machine for exhibiting the motions
+of the stars was also meant to be helpful in the construction of
+astrological tables. It must not be forgotten, however, that in his
+time the best astronomers, like Tycho Brahe and even Kepler, had not
+entirely given up the idea of the influence of the stars over man's
+destiny.
+
+As regards other sciences, there are details of information that may
+appear quite as superstitious as the belief in astrology. Kircher, for
+instance, accepted the idea of the possibility of the transmutation of
+metals. It is to be said, though, that all mankind were convinced of
+this possibility, and indeed not entirely without reason. All during
+the nineteenth century scientists believed very firmly in the absolute
+independence of chemical elements and their utter
+non-interchangeability. As the result of recent discoveries, however,
+in which one element has apparently been observed giving rise to
+another, much of this doctrine has come to be considered as
+improbable, and now the idea of possible transmutation of {127} metals
+and other chemical elements into one another appears not so absurd as
+it was half a century ago.
+
+Any one who will take up a text-book of science of a century ago will
+find in it many glaring absurdities. It will seem almost impossible
+that a scientific thinker, in his right senses, could have accepted
+some of the propositions that are calmly set down as absolute truths.
+Every generation has made itself ridiculous by knowing many things
+"that are not so," and even ours is no exception. Father Kircher was
+not outside this rule, though he was ahead of his generation in the
+critical faculty that enabled him to eliminate many falsities and to
+illuminate half-truths in the science of his day.
+
+Undoubtedly the most interesting of Father Kircher's scientific books
+is his work On the Pest, with some considerations on its origin, mode
+of distribution, and treatment, which about the middle of the
+seventeenth century gathered together all the medical theories of the
+times as to the causation of contagious disease, discussed them with
+critical judgment and reached conclusions which anticipate much of
+what is most modern in our present-day medicine. It is this work of
+Father Kircher's that is now most often referred to, and very
+deservedly so, because it is one of the classics which represents a
+landmark in knowledge for all time. It merits a place beside such
+books as Harvey on the Circulation of Blood, or even Vesalius on Human
+{128} Anatomy. As we have seen, it is now quoted from by our best
+recent authorities who attempt seriously to trace the history of the
+microbic theory of disease, and its conclusions are the result of
+logical processes and not the mere chance lighting upon truth of a
+mind that had the theories of the time before it. In it Father
+Kircher's genius is best exhibited. It has the faults of his too ready
+credibility; and his desire to discuss all possible phases of the
+question, even those which are now manifestly absurd, has led him into
+what prove to be useless digressions. But on the whole it represents
+very well the first great example of the application of the principle
+of inductive science to modern medicine. All the known facts and
+observations are collected and discussed, and then the conclusions are
+suggested.
+
+It is very interesting to trace the development of Father Kircher's
+ideas with regard to the origin, causation, and communication of
+disease, because in many points he so clearly anticipates medical
+knowledge that has only come to be definitely accepted in very recent
+times. It has often been pointed out that Sir Robert Boyle declared
+that the processes of fermentation and those which brought about
+infectious disease, were probably of similar nature, and that the
+scientist who solved the problem of the cause of fermentation would
+throw great light on the origin of these diseases. This prophetic
+remark was absolutely verified when Pasteur, a chemist who had solved
+the problem of fermentation, also solved {129} the weightier questions
+connected with human diseases. Before even Boyle, however, Father
+Kircher had expressed his opinion that disease processes were similar
+to those of putrefaction. He considered that putrefaction was due to
+the presence of certain _corpuscula_, as he called them, and these he
+said were also probably active in the causation of infectious disease.
+
+He was not sure whether or not these _corpuscula_ were living, in the
+sense that they could multiply of themselves. He considered, however,
+that this was very probable. As to their distribution, he is
+especially happy in his anticipations of modern medical progress.
+While he considered it very possible that they were carried through
+the air, he gives it as his deliberate opinion that living things were
+the most frequent agents for the distribution of the corpuscles of
+disease. He is sure that they are carried by flies, for instance, and
+that they may be inoculated by the stings of such insects as fleas or
+mosquitoes. He even gives some examples that he knew of in which this
+was demonstrated. Still more striking is his insistence on the fact
+that such a contagious disease as pest may be carried by cats and dogs
+and other domestic animals. The cat seemed to him to be associated
+with special danger in this matter, and he gives an example of a
+nunnery which had carefully protected itself against possible
+infection, but had allowed a cat to come in, with the result that some
+cases of the disease developed.
+
+{130}
+
+An interesting bit of discussion is to be found in the chapter in
+which Father Kircher takes up the consideration of the problem whether
+infectious disease can ever be produced by the imagination. He is
+speaking particularly of the pest, but there is more than a suspicion
+that under the name pest came at times of epidemics many of our modern
+contagious diseases. Father Kircher says that there is no doubt that
+worry plays an important role in predisposing persons to take the
+disease. He does not consider, however, that it can originate of
+itself, or be engendered in the person without contact with some
+previous case of pest. With regard to the question of predisposition
+he is very modern. He points out that many persons do not take the
+disease, because evidently of some protective quality which they
+possess. He is sure, too, that the best possible protection comes from
+keeping in good, general health.
+
+A curious suggestion is that with regard to the grave-diggers and
+undertakers. It has often been noted in Italy, so Father Kircher
+asserts, that these individuals as a rule did not succumb to the
+disease, notwithstanding their extreme exposure, when the majority of
+the population were suffering from it. Toward the end of the epidemic,
+however, at the time when the townspeople were beginning to rejoice
+over its practical disappearance, it was not unusual to have these
+caretakers of the dead brought down with the disease--often, too, in
+fatal form. Father {131} Kircher considers that only strong and
+healthy individuals would take up such an occupation. That the
+satisfaction of accomplishing a large amount of work and making money
+kept them in good health. Later on, however, as the result of overwork
+during the time of the epidemic and also of discouragement because
+they saw the end of prosperous times for them, they became predisposed
+to the disease and then fell victims.
+
+With regard to the prevention of the pest in individual cases, Father
+Kircher has some very sensible remarks. He says that physicians as a
+rule depend on certain medicinal protectives or on amulets which they
+carry. The amulets he considers to be merely superstitious. The
+sweet-smelling substances that are sometimes employed are probably
+without any preventive action. Certain physicians employed a
+prophylactic remedy made up of very many substances. This is what in
+modern days we would be apt to call a "gunshot prescription." It
+contained so many ingredients that it was hoped that some one of them
+would hit the right spot and prove effective. Father Kircher has
+another name for it. We do not know whether it is original with him,
+but in any case it is worth while remembering. He calls it a "calendar
+prescription," because when written it resembled a list of the days of
+the month.
+
+His opinion of this "calendar prescription" is not very high. It seems
+to him that if one ingredient did good, most of the others would be
+{132} almost as sure to do harm. The main factor in prophylaxis to his
+mind was to keep in normal health, and this seemed not quite
+compatible with frequent recourse to a prescription containing so many
+drugs that were almost sure to have no good effect and might have an
+ill effect. It is all the more interesting to find these common-sense
+views because ordinarily Father Kircher is set down as one who
+accepted most of the traditions of his time without inquiring very
+deeply into their origin or truth, simply reporting them out of the
+fulness of his rather pedantic information. In most cases it will be
+found, however, that, like Herodotus, reporting the curious things
+that had been told him in his travels, he is very careful to state
+what are his own opinions and what he owes to others and gives place
+to, though without attaching much credence to them.
+
+It must not be forgotten that his great contemporaries, Von Helmont
+and Paracelsus, were not free from many of the curious scientific
+superstitions of their time, though they had, like him, in many
+respects the true scientific spirit. Von Helmont, for instance, was a
+firm believer in the doctrine of spontaneous generation, and even went
+so far as to consider that it had its application to animals of rather
+high order. For instance, one of his works contains a rather famous
+prescription to bring about the spontaneous generation of mice. What
+was needed was a jar of meal kept in a dark corner covered by some
+soiled linen. After three weeks these elements {133} would be found to
+have bred mice. Too much must not be expected, then, of Kircher in the
+matter of crediting supposedly scientific traditions.
+
+It may seem surprising that Father Kircher's book did not produce a
+greater impression upon the medical research work and teaching of the
+day and lead to an earlier development of microbiology. Unfortunately,
+however, the instruments of precision necessary for such a study were
+not then at hand, and the gradual loss of prestige of the book is
+therefore readily to be understood. The explanation of this delay in
+the development of science is very well put by Crookshank, who is the
+professor of comparative pathology and bacteriology at King's College,
+London, and one of the acknowledged authorities on these subjects in
+the medical world. Professor Crookshank says, at the beginning of the
+first chapter of his text-book on bacteriology, in which he traces the
+origin of the science, that the first attempt to demonstrate the
+existence of the _contagium vivum_ dates back almost to the discovery
+of the microscope:--[Footnote 11]
+
+    [Footnote 11: _A Text-Book of Bacteriology_. Including the
+    Etiology and Prevention of Infectious Diseases By Edgar M.
+    Crookshank. Fourth Edition London, 1896]
+
+  Athanasius Kircher nearly two and a half centuries ago expressed his
+  belief that there were definite micro-organisms to which diseases
+  were attributable. The microscope had revealed that all decomposing
+  {134} substances swarmed with countless micro-organisms which were
+  invisible to the naked eye, and Kircher sought for similar organisms
+  in disease, which he considered might be due to their agency. The
+  microscopes which he describes obviously could not admit of the
+  possibility of studying or even detecting the micro-organisms which
+  are now known to be associated with certain diseases; and it is not
+  surprising that his teaching did not at the time gain much
+  attention. They were destined, however, to receive a great impetus
+  from the discoveries which emanated not long after from the father
+  of microscopy, Leeuwenhoek.
+
+This reference to Kircher's work, however, shows that more cordial
+appreciation of his scientific genius has come in our day, and it
+seems not unlikely that in the progress of more accurate and detailed
+knowledge of scientific origins his reputation will grow as it
+deserves. With that doubtless will come a better understanding of the
+true attitude of the scholars of the time--so many of whom were
+churchmen--to so-called physical science in contradistinction to
+philosophy, in which of course they had always been profoundly
+interested. The work done by Kircher could never have been
+accomplished but for the sympathetic interest of those who are falsely
+supposed to have been bitterly opposed to all progress in the natural
+sciences, but whose opposition was really limited to theoretic phases
+of scientific inquiry that threatened, as has scientific theory so
+often since, to prove directly contradictory to revealed truth.
+
+
+{135}
+
+VI.
+
+BISHOP STENSEN: ANATOMIST AND FATHER OF GEOLOGY.
+
+{136}
+
+God makes sages and saints that they may be fountain-heads of wisdom
+and virtue for all who yearn and aspire: and whoever has superior
+knowledge or ability is thereby committed to more effectual and
+unselfish service of his fellow-men. If the love of fame be but an
+infirmity of noble souls, the craving of professional reputation is
+but conceit and vanity. To be of help, and to be of help not merely to
+animals, but to immortal, pure, loving spirits this is the noblest
+earthly fate.--BISHOP SPALDING: _The Physician's Calling and
+Education_.
+
+
+
+[Illustration: NICOLAUS STENONIS]
+
+
+{137}
+
+VI.
+
+BISHOP STENSEN, ANATOMIST AND FATHER OF GEOLOGY.
+
+In the sketch of the life of Father Athanasius Kircher, the
+distinguished Jesuit scientist, mathematician, and Orientalist, I
+called attention to the fact that, at the very time when Galileo was
+tried and condemned at Rome, because of his abuse of Scripture for the
+demonstration of scientific thesis, a condemnation which has been
+often since proclaimed to be due to the Church's intolerant opposition
+to science, the ecclesiastical authorities at Rome invited Father
+Kircher, who was at that time teaching mathematics in Germany, to come
+to Rome, and during the next half-century encouraged him in every way
+in the cultivation of all the physical sciences of the times. It was
+to popes and cardinals, as well as to influential members of his own
+order of the Jesuits, that Father Kircher owed his opportunities for
+the foundation of a complete and magnificent museum, illustrating many
+phases of natural science--the first of its kind in the world, and
+which yet continues to be one of the noteworthy collections.
+
+During the decade in which the condemnation of Galileo and the
+invitation of Father Kircher to Rome took place, there was born, at
+{138} Copenhagen, a man whose career of distinction in science was to
+prove even more effectively than that of Kircher, if possible, that
+there was no opposition in ecclesiastical circles in Italy, during
+this century, to the development of natural science even in
+departments in respect to which the Church has, over and over again,
+been said to be specially intolerant. This scientist was Nicholas
+Stensen, the discoverer of the duct of the parotid gland, which
+conducts saliva into the mouth, and the founder, in the truest sense
+of the word, of the modern science of geology. Stensen's discovery of
+the duct which has since borne his name was due to no mere accident;
+for he was one of the really great anatomists of all time, and one
+distinguished particularly for his powers of original observation and
+investigation. To have the two distinctions, then, of a leader in
+anatomy and a founder in geology, stamps him as one of the supreme
+scientific geniuses of all time, a man not only of a fruitfully
+inquiring disposition of mind, but also one who possessed a very
+definite realization of how important for the cause of scientific
+truth is the necessity of testing all ideas with regard to things
+physical, by actual observations of nature and by drawing conclusions
+not wider than the observed facts.
+
+Notwithstanding this characteristically scientific temper of mind,
+which, according to most modern ideas, at least, would seem to be sure
+to lead him away from religious truth, Stensen at the {139} very
+height of his career as a scientist, while studying anatomy and
+geology in Italy, became a convert from Lutheranism, in which he had
+been born, to Catholicity, and thereafter made it one of the prime
+objects of his life to bring as many others as possible of the
+separated brethren into the fold of the Church. When he accepted the
+professorship of anatomy at the University of Copenhagen, it was with
+the definite idea that he might be able to use the influence of his
+position to make people realize how much of religious truth there was
+in the old Church from which they had been separated in the preceding
+century. After a time, however, his zeal led him to resign his
+position, and ask to be made a priest, in order that he might be able
+more effectively to fulfil what he now considered the main purpose of
+his life, the winning of souls to the Church. As, since his
+conversion, he had given every evidence of the most sincere piety and
+humble simplicity, his desires were granted. His book on geology,
+however, was partly written during the very time when he was preparing
+for sacred orders, and was warmly welcomed by all his Catholic
+friends. After spending some time as a missionary, and attracting a
+great deal of attention by his devout life and by the many friends and
+converts he succeeded in making, the recently converted Duke of
+Hanover asked that the zealous Danish convert should be made bishop of
+his capital city. This request was immediately granted, and Stensen
+spent several years {140} in the hardest missionary labor in his new
+field. As a matter of fact, his labors proved too much for his rather
+delicate constitution, and he died at the comparatively early age of
+forty-eight. The visitor to the University of Copenhagen marvels to
+find among the portraits of her professors of anatomy one in the robes
+of a Roman Catholic bishop. This is Stensen. In 1881, when the
+International Geographical Congress met at Bologna, it adjourned at
+the end of the session to Florence to unveil a bust of Stensen, over
+his tomb there. Here evidently is a man whose life is well worth
+studying, because of all that it means for the history of his time.
+
+Nicholas Stensen--or, as he is often called, Steno, because this is
+the Latin form of his name, and Latin was practically exclusively
+used, during his age, in scientific circles all over Europe--was born
+20 January, 1638, in Copenhagen. His father died while he was
+comparatively young, and his mother married again, both her husbands
+being goldsmiths in high repute for their skill, and both of them in
+rather well-to-do circumstances. His early education was obtained at
+Copenhagen, and the results displayed in his attainments show how well
+it must have been conducted. Later in life he spoke and wrote Latin
+very fluently and had, besides, a very thorough knowledge of Greek and
+of Hebrew. Of the modern languages, German, French, Italian, and Low
+Dutch he knew very well, mainly from residence in the various
+countries in which they {141} are spoken. A more unusual attainment at
+that time, and one showing the ardor of his thirst for knowledge, was
+an acquaintance with English. In early life he was especially fond of
+mathematics and, indeed, it was almost by accident that this did not
+become his chosen field of educational development.
+
+At eighteen he became a student of the University of Copenhagen, and
+after some preliminary studies in philosophy and philology devoted
+himself mainly to medicine. At this time the Danish University was
+especially distinguished for its work in anatomy. The famous family of
+Bartholini, who had for several generations been teaching there, had
+proved a copious source of inspiration for the students in their
+department, and as a consequence original investigation of a high
+order, with enthusiasm for the development of anatomical science, had
+become the rule. The external situation was not favorable to learning,
+for Denmark was engaged in harassing and costly wars during a
+considerable portion of the seventeenth century; yet the work
+accomplished here was, undoubtedly, some of the best in Europe. Young
+Stensen had the advantage of having Thomas Bartholini as his
+preceptor, and soon, because of his enthusiasm for science, as friend
+and father.
+
+Stensen had been at the University scarcely two years when the city of
+Copenhagen was besieged by the Swedes. Professor Lutz, of the
+University of St. Louis, who has recently written {142} an article on
+Stensen, which appeared in the _Medical Library and Historical
+Journal_ for July, 1904, says of this period:
+
+  A regiment of students numbering two hundred and sixty-six, called
+  "the black coats" on account of their dark clothes, was formed for
+  the defence of the city; upon its roster we find the name of young
+  Steno. During the day they were at work mending the ramparts, and
+  the nights were spent in repelling the attacks of the enemy. In the
+  course of this long siege, the city was compelled to cope with a
+  more formidable enemy than the Swedes--famine with all its
+  horrors--before relief came in the shape of provisions and
+  reinforcements furnished by the Dutch fleet. Throughout these
+  turbulent days the student soldiers rendered valuable services to
+  their country, and though it be true that "inter arma silent
+  musae"--"the war gods do not favor the muses"--it appears
+  nevertheless that Steno attended the lectures and dissections which
+  were conducted by the teachers in the intervals when the student
+  were not on duty.
+
+After some three years spent at the University of Copenhagen, Stensen,
+as was the custom of the times, went to pursue his post-graduate
+studies in a foreign university. Bartholini furnished him with a
+letter of recommendation to Professor Blasius, who was teaching
+anatomy at Amsterdam in Holland. Amsterdam had become famous during
+the seventeenth century for the very practical character of its
+anatomical teaching. As the result of the cordial commendation of
+Bartholini, Stensen became an inmate of the house of Professor
+Blasius, and was given {143} special opportunities to pursue his
+anatomical studies for himself. He had been but a very short time at
+Amsterdam, when he made the discovery to which his name has ever since
+been attached, that of the duct of the parotid gland. Stensen's
+discovery was made while he was dissecting the head of a sheep. He
+found shortly afterwards, however, that the canal could be
+demonstrated to exist in the dog, though it was not so large a
+structure. Blasius seems to have been rather annoyed at the fact that
+a student, just beginning work with him, should make so important a
+discovery, and wished to claim the honor of it for himself. There is
+no doubt, however, now, notwithstanding the discussion over the
+priority of the discovery which took place at the time, that Stensen
+was the first to make this important observation.
+
+Not long before, Wharton, an English observer, had demonstrated the
+existence of a canal leading from the submaxillary gland into the
+mouth. This might have been expected to lead to the discovery of other
+glandular ducts, but so far had not. As a matter of fact, the function
+of the parotid gland was not well understood at this time. During the
+discussion as to priority of discovery, Steno pointed out one fact
+which he very properly considers as the most conclusive proof that
+Blasius did not discover the duct of the gland. He says: "Blasius
+shows plainly in his treatise 'De Medicina Generali' that he has never
+sought for the duct, for he does not assign {144} to it either the
+proper point of beginning or ending, and assigns to the parotid gland
+itself so unworthy a function as that of furnishing warmth to the ear,
+so that if I were not perfectly sure of having once shown him the duct
+myself, I should be tempted to say that he had never seen it."
+
+Bartholini settled the controversy, and at the same time removed any
+discouragement that might have arisen in his young pupil's mind, by
+writing to him:--
+
+  Your assiduity in investigating the secrets of the human body, as
+  well as your fortunate discoveries, are highly praised by the
+  learned of your country. The fatherland congratulates itself upon
+  such a citizen, I upon such a pupil, through whose efforts anatomy
+  makes daily progress, and our lympathic vessels are traced out more
+  and more. You divide honors with Wharton, since you have added to
+  his internal duct an external one, and have thereby discovered the
+  sources of the saliva concerning which many have hitherto dreamed
+  much, but which no one has (permit the expression) pointed out with
+  the finger. Continue, my Steno, to follow the path to immortal glory
+  which true anatomy holds out to you.
+
+Under the stimulus of such encouragement, it is no wonder that Stensen
+continued his original work with eminent success. He published an
+extensive article on the glands of the eye and the vessels of the
+nose.
+
+Bartholini wrote to him again: "Your fame is growing from day to day,
+for your pen and your sharp eye know no rest." Later he wrote {145}
+again: "You may count upon the favor of the king as well as upon the
+applause of the learned." After three years at the University of
+Amsterdam, Steno returned to Copenhagen, where he published his
+"Anatomical Observations Concerning the Muscles and Glands." It was in
+this book that he announced his persuasion that the heart was a
+muscle. As he said himself, "the heart has been considered the seat of
+natural warmth, the throne of the soul; but if you examine it more
+closely, it turns out to be nothing but a muscle. The men of the past
+would not have been so grossly mistaken with regard to it, had they
+not preferred their imaginary theories to the results of the simple
+observation of nature." It is easy to understand that this observation
+created a very great sensation. It had much to do with overthrowing
+certain theoretic systems of medicine, and nearly a century later the
+distinguished physiologist, Haller, did not hesitate to proclaim the
+volume in which it occurs, as a "golden book."
+
+Stensen's studies in anatomy stamp him as an original genius of a high
+order, and this is all the more remarkable because his career occurs
+just in those years when there were distinguished discoverers in
+anatomy in every country in Europe. When Stensen began his work in
+anatomy, Harvey was still alive. The elder Bartholini, the first who
+ever established an anatomical museum, was another of his
+contemporaries. Among the names of distinguished anatomists {146} with
+whom Stensen was brought intimately in contact during the course of
+his studies in Holland, France and Italy are those of Swammerdam, Van
+Horne, and Malpighi. There is no doubt that his intercourse with such
+men sharpened his own intellectual activity, and increased his
+enthusiasm for original investigation in contradistinction to the mere
+accumulation of information.
+
+His contemporaries, indeed, exhausted most of the adjectives of the
+Latin language in trying to express their appreciation of his acuity
+of observation. He was spoken of as _oculatissimus_--that is, as
+being all eyes, _subtilissimus, acutissimus, sagacissimus_ in his
+knowledge of the human body, and as the most perspicacious anatomist
+of the time. Leibnitz and Haller were in accord in considering him one
+of the greatest of anatomists. In later years this admiration for
+Stensen's genius has not been less enthusiastically expressed. Haeser,
+in his "History of Medicine," the third edition of which appeared at
+Jena in 1879, says: "Among the greatest anatomists of the seventeenth
+century belongs Nicholas Steno, the most distinguished pupil of Thomas
+Bartholini. Steno was rightly considered in his own time as one of the
+greatest of anatomical discoverers. There is scarcely any part of the
+human body the knowledge of which was not rendered more complete by
+his investigations."
+
+The most valuable discovery made by Stensen was undoubtedly that the
+heart is a muscle. It {147} must not be forgotten that in his time,
+Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood was not yet
+generally accepted; indeed, there were many who considered the theory
+(as they called it) of the English investigator as one of the passing
+fads of medicine. Two significant discoveries, made after Harvey,
+served, however, to establish the theory of the circulation of the
+blood on a firm basis and to make it a definite medical doctrine. The
+most important of these was Malpighi's discovery that the
+capillaries--that is, the minute vessels at the end of the arterial
+tree on the surface of the body and in various organs--served as the
+direct connexion between the veins and the arteries. This demonstrated
+just how the blood passed from the arterial to the venous system.
+Scarcely less important, however, for the confirmation of Harvey's
+teaching was Stensen's demonstration of the muscular character of the
+tissue of the heart.
+
+Some of his observations upon muscles are extremely interesting, and,
+though he made many mistakes in explaining their function, he added
+not a little to the anatomical and physiological knowledge of the time
+in their regard. He seems to have been one of the first to recognize
+the fact that in the higher animals the heart may continue to beat for
+a considerable time after the animal is apparently dead; and, indeed,
+that by irritation of the removed heart, voluntary contractions may be
+brought about which will continue spontaneously for some moments.
+
+{148}
+
+With regard to the objections made by some, that such studies as these
+upon muscles could scarcely be expected to produce any direct result
+for the treatment of disease, or in the ordinary practice of medicine,
+Stensen said in reply that it is only on the basis of the anatomical,
+physiological, and pathological observation that progress in medicine
+is to be looked for. In spite, then, of the discouragement of the
+many, who look always for immediate practical results, Stensen
+continued his investigation, and even proposed to make an extended
+study of the mechanism of the muscular action.
+
+In the meantime, however, there had gradually been coming into his
+life another element which was to prove more absorbing than even his
+zeal for scientific discovery. It is this which constitutes the
+essential index of the man's character and has been sadly
+misunderstood by many of his biographers.
+
+Sir Michael Foster, of Cambridge, England, in his "Lectures on the
+History of Physiology," originally delivered as the Lane Lectures at
+Cooper Medical College, San Francisco, said:--
+
+  While thus engaged, still working at physiology, Stensen turned his
+  versatile mind to other problems, as well as to those of comparative
+  anatomy, and especially to those of the infant, indeed hardly as yet
+  born, science of geology. His work "De solido intra solidum" is
+  thought by geologists to be a brilliant effort toward the beginning
+  of their science
+
+  In 1672 he returned for a while to his native city of {149}
+  Copenhagen, but within two years he was back again at Florence; and
+  then there came to him, while as yet a young man of some thirty-six
+  summers, a sudden and profound change in his life.
+
+  In his early days he had heard much, too much perhaps, of the
+  doctrines of Luther. Probably he had been repelled by the austere
+  devotion which ruled the paternal roof. And, as his answer to
+  Bossuet shows, his university life and studies, his intercourse with
+  the active intellects of many lands, and his passion for inquiry
+  into natural knowledge, had freed him from passive obedience to
+  dogma. He doubtless, as did many others of his time, looked upon
+  himself as one of the enlightened, as one raised above the barren
+  theological questions which were moving the minds of lesser men
+
+Yet it was out of this sceptical state of mind, that life in Italy and
+intimate contact with ecclesiastics and religious, so often said to be
+likely not to have any such effect, brought this acute scientific mind
+into the Catholic Church. Nor did he become merely a formal adherent,
+but an ardent believer, and then an enthusiastic proselytizer. One
+American writer of a history of medicine, in his utter failure to
+comprehend or sympathize with the change that came over Stensen,
+speaks of him as having become at the end of his life a mere
+"peripatetic converter of heretics." This phase of Stensen's life has,
+however, as ample significance as any that preceded it.
+
+Steno's expectations of the professorship of anatomy at Copenhagen
+were disappointed, but the appointment went to Jacobson, whose work
+indeed is scarcely less distinguished than that of {150} his
+unsuccessful rival. The next few years Stensen passed in Paris, where
+he was assiduous in making dissections, and where he attracted much
+attention; and then, somewhat later, in Italy; in 1665 and 1666 he was
+in Rome. Thence he went to Florence, in order to perfect himself in
+Italian. The next few years he spent in this city, having received the
+appointment of body physician to the Grand Duke, as well as an
+appointment of visiting physician, as we would call it now, to the
+Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova.
+
+It was while at Florence that the whole current of Stensen's life was
+changed by his conversion to Catholicity. His position as physician to
+the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova brought him frequently into the
+apothecary shop attached to the hospital. As a result he came to know
+very well the religious in charge of the department, Sister Maria
+Flavia, the daughter of a well-known Tuscan family. At this time she
+had been for some thirty-five years a nun. Before long she learned
+that the distinguished young physician, at this time scarcely thirty
+years of age, who was such a pleasant gentleman in all his ways, was a
+Lutheran. She began, as she told afterwards, first by prayer, and then
+by friendly suggestions, to attempt to win him to the Catholic Church.
+Stensen, who seems already to have been well-disposed toward the
+Church, and who had always been known for a wonderful purity of heart
+and simplicity of character, listened very willingly to the naive
+words of the {151} old religious, who might very well have been his
+mother.
+
+Many years later, by the command of her confessor, the good Sister
+related the detailed story of his conversion. She began very simply by
+telling him one day that if he did not accept the true Catholic faith,
+he would surely go to hell. He listened to this without any
+impatience, and she said it a number of other times, half jokingly
+perhaps, but much more than half in earnest. As he listened so kindly,
+she said to him one day that he must pray every day to God to let him
+know the truth. This he promised to do and, as she found out from his
+servant (what is it these nuns do not find out?) he did pray every
+evening. One day, while he was in the apothecary shop, the Angelus
+bell rang, and she asked him to say the Angelus. He was perfectly
+willing to say the first part of the Hail Mary, but he did not want to
+say the second part, as he did not believe in the invocation of the
+Blessed Virgin and the saints. Then she asked him to visit the Church
+of the Blessed Virgin, the Santissima Nunziata, which he did. After
+this she suggested to him that he should abstain from meat on Fridays
+and Saturdays, which he promised to do, and which the good nun found
+out once more from his servant, he actually did do. And then the
+religious thought it was time to suggest that he should consult a
+clergyman, and his conversion was not long delayed.
+
+Young Stensen seems to have been the object {152} of solicitude on the
+part of a number of the good, elderly women with whom he was brought
+in contact. He discussed with Signora Arnolfini the great difficulty
+he had in believing the mystery of the Eucharist. Another good woman,
+the Signora Lavinia Felice, seeing how interested he was in things
+Catholic, succeeded in bringing him to the notice of a prominent
+Jesuit in Florence. As his friend, Sister Maria Flavia, had
+recommended the same Father to him, he followed the advice all the
+more readily, and it was not long before his last doubts were solved.
+
+It was after his conversion that Stensen received his invitation to
+become the professor of anatomy at the University of Copenhagen. Much
+as he had become attached to Florence, the thought of returning to his
+native city was sweet; and then besides he hoped that he might be able
+to influence his countrymen in their views toward the Catholic Church.
+It was not long, however, before the bigotry of his compatriots made
+life so unpleasant for him in Copenhagen that he resigned his position
+and returned to Italy. Various official posts in Florence were open
+for him, but now he had resolved to devote himself to the service of
+the Church, and so he became a priest. His contemporary, the Cardinal
+Archbishop of Florence, said with regard to him: "Already as a member
+of a Protestant sect he had lived a life of innocence and had
+practised all the moral virtues. After his conversion he had marked
+out for himself so severe a method of life and had {153} remained so
+true to it that in a very short time he reached a high degree of
+perfection." The Archbishop does not hesitate to say that he had
+become a man of constant union with God and entirely dead to himself.
+There was very little hesitation, then, in accepting him as a
+candidate for the priesthood, and as his knowledge of theology was
+very thorough, most of the delay in raising him to that dignity came
+from his own humility and his desire to prepare himself properly for
+the privilege. He made the exercises of St. Ignatius as part of his
+preparation, and after his ordination it was a source of remark with
+how much devotion he said his first and all succeeding Masses. It was
+not long before the piety of Stensen's life attracted great attention.
+At this time he was in frequent communication with such men as Spinoza
+and Leibnitz, the distinguished philosophers. It is curious to think
+of the ardent mystic, the pantheistic philosopher, and the speculative
+scientist, so different in character, having many interests in common.
+
+It was during these years in Italy that Stensen did what must be
+considered, undoubtedly, his most important work, even more important,
+if possible, than his anatomical discoveries. This was his foundation
+of the science of geology. As has been well said in a prominent
+text-book of geology, his book on this subject sets him in that group
+of men who as prophets of science often run far ahead of their times
+to point out the path which later centuries will follow in the road of
+{154} knowledge. It is rather surprising to find that the seventeenth
+century must enjoy the privilege of being considered the cradle of
+geological knowledge. There is no doubt, however, that the great
+principles of the science were laid down in Stensen's little book,
+which he intended only to be an introduction to a more extensive work,
+but the latter was unfortunately never completed, nor, indeed, so far
+as we are able to decide now, ever seriously begun.
+
+One of the basic principles of the science of geology Stensen taught
+as follows: "If a given body of definite form, produced according to
+the laws of nature, be carefully examined, it will show in itself the
+place and manner of its origin." This principle he showed would apply
+so comprehensively that the existence of many things, hitherto
+apparently inexplicable, became rather easy of solution. It must not
+be forgotten that before this time two explanations for the existence
+of peculiar bodies, or of ordinary bodies, in peculiar places, had
+been offered. According to one school of thought, the fossils found
+deep in the earth, or sometimes in the midst of rocks, had been
+created there. It was as if the creative force had run beyond the
+ordinary bounds of nature and had produced certain things, ordinarily
+associated with life, even in the midst of dead matter. The other
+explanation suggested was that the flood had in its work of
+destruction upon earth caused many anomalous displacements of living
+things, and had buried some of the {155} animals under such
+circumstances that later they were found even beneath rocks, or deep
+down in the earth, far beyond where the animals could be supposed to
+have penetrated by any ordinary means during life.
+
+Stensen had observed very faithfully the various strata that are to be
+found wherever special appearances of the earth's surface were
+exposed, or wherever deep excavations were made. His explanation of
+how these various strata are formed will serve to show, perhaps better
+than anything else, how far advanced he was in his realization of
+ideas that are supposed to belong only to modern geology. He said:
+"The powdery layers of the earth's surface must necessarily at some
+time have been held in suspension in water, from which they were
+precipitated by their own weight. The movement of the fluid scattered
+the precipitate here and there and gave to it a level surface."
+
+"Bodies of considerable circumference," Stensen continues, "which are
+found in the various layers of the earth, followed the laws of gravity
+as regards their position and their relations to one another. The
+powdery material of the earth's strata took on so completely the form
+of the bodies which it surrounded that even the smallest apertures
+became filled up and the powdery layer fitted accurately to the
+surface of the object and even took something of its polish."
+
+With regard to the composition of the various strata of the earth, the
+father of geology {156} considered that if in a layer of rock all the
+portions are of the same kind there is no reason to deny that such a
+layer came into existence at the time of creation, when the whole
+surface of the earth was covered with fluid. If, however, in any one
+stratum portions of another stratum are found, or if the remains of
+plants or animals occur, there is no doubt that such a stratum had not
+its origin at the time of creation, but came into existence later.
+
+If there is to be found in a stratum traces of sea salt, or the
+remains of sea animals, or portions of vessels, or such like objects,
+which are only to be encountered at the bottom of the sea, then it
+must be considered that this portion of the earth's surface once was
+below the sea level, though it may happen that this occurred only by
+the accident of a flood of some kind. The great distance from the sea,
+or other body of water, at the present time, may be due to the sinking
+of the water level in the neighborhood, or by the rising up of a
+mountain from some internal terrestrial cause in the interval of time.
+He continues:--
+
+  If one finds in any layer remains of branches of trees, or herbs,
+  then it is only right to conclude that these objects were brought
+  together because of flood or of some such condition in the place
+  where they are now found. If in a layer coal and ashes and burnt
+  clay or other scorched bodies are found, then it seems sure that
+  some place in the neighborhood of a watercourse a fire took place,
+  and this is all the more sure when the whole layer consists of ashes
+  and {157} coal. Whenever in the same place the material of which all
+  the layers is composed is the same, there seems to be no doubt that
+  the fluid to which the stratum owes its origin did not at different
+  times obtain different material for its building purposes.
+
+In respect to the mountains and their formation, Stensen said very
+definitely:--
+
+  All the mountains which we see now have not existed from the
+  beginning of things. Mountains do not, however, grow as do plants.
+  The stones of which mountains are composed have only a certain
+  analogy with the bones of animals, but have no similarity in
+  structure or in origin, nor have they the same function and purpose.
+  Mountain ranges, or chains of mountains as some prefer to call them,
+  do not always run in certain directions, though this has sometimes
+  been claimed. Such claims correspond neither to reason nor to
+  observation. Mountains may be very much disturbed in the course of
+  years. Mountain peaks rise and fall somewhat. Chasms open and shut
+  here and there in them, and though there are those who pretend that
+  it is only the credulous who will accept the stories of such
+  happenings, there is no doubt that they have been established on
+  trustworthy evidence.
+
+In the course of his observations in Italy, Stensen had seen many
+mussel shells, which had been gathered from various layers of the
+earth's surface. With regard to the shells themselves, he said that
+there could be no doubt that they had come as the excretion of the
+mantle of the mussel, and that the differences that could be noted in
+them were in accordance with the varying forms of these animals. He
+pointed out, however, that some of the mussel shells found in {158}
+strata of rock were really mussel shells in every respect as regards
+the material of which they were composed as well as their interior
+structure and their external form, so that there could be no possible
+question of their origin. On the other hand, a certain number of the
+so-called mussel shells were not composed of the ordinary materials of
+which such shells are usually made up; but had indeed only the
+external form of genuine shells. Stensen considered, however, that
+even these must be regarded as originating in real mussel shells, the
+original substance having been later on replaced by other material. He
+explained this replacement process in very much the same way that we
+now suggest the explanation of various processes of petrification.
+There is no doubt that in this he went far beyond his contemporaries,
+and pointed out very clearly what was to be the teaching of
+generations long after his own.
+
+The same principles he applied to mussel shells, Stensen considered
+must have their application also to all other portions of animal
+bodies, teeth, bones, whole skeletons, and even more perishable animal
+materials that might be found buried in the earth's strata. His
+treatment of the question of the remains of plants was quite as
+satisfactory as that of the animals. He distinguished between the
+impressions of plants, the petrification of plants, the carbonization
+of plants, and then dwelt somewhat on the tendency of certain minerals
+to form dendrites, that is, branching {159} processes which look not
+unlike plants. He pointed out how easy it is to be deceived by these
+appearances, and stated very clearly the distinction between real
+plants and such simulated ones.
+
+It will be scarcely necessary for us to apologize for having given so
+much space to Stensen's work on geology. Many distinguished
+scientists, however, have insisted that no greater advance at the
+birth of a science was ever made than that which Stensen accomplished
+in his geological work. Hoffman says that after carefully studying the
+work, he has come to the conclusion that of the successors of Stensen,
+no student of the mountains down to Werner's day had succeeded in
+comprehending so many fruitful points of view in geology. None of his
+great successors in geology has succeeded in introducing so many new
+ideas into the science as the first great observer. For several
+centuries most of his successors in geology remained far behind him in
+creative genius, and so there is little progress worth while noting in
+the knowledge of the method of earth formation, until almost the
+beginning of the nineteenth century, though his little book was
+written in 1668 and 1669.
+
+Leibnitz regretted very much that Stensen did not complete his work on
+geology as he originally intended. Had he succeeded in gathering
+together all of his original observations, illustrated by the material
+he had collected, his work would have had much greater effect. As it
+was, the golden truth which he had expressed in such {160} few words,
+without being able always to state just how he had come to his
+conclusions, was only of avail to science in a limited way. Men had to
+repeat his observations long years afterwards in order to realize the
+truth of what he had laid down. Leibnitz considered that it took more
+than a century for geological science to reach the point at which it
+had been left by Steno's work, and which he had reached at a single
+bound. There is scarcely a single modern geologist interested at all
+in the history of the science who has not paid a worthy tribute to
+Steno's great basic discoveries in the science. It was not a matter
+for surprise, then, that the International Congress of Geologists
+which met at Bologna in 1881 assembled at his tomb in Florence in
+order to do him honor, after the regular sessions of the Congress had
+closed. They erected to his memory a tablet with the following
+scription:
+
+  "Nicolae Stenonis imaginem vides hospes quam aere collato docti
+  amplius mille ex universo terrarum orbe insculpendam curarunt in
+  memoriam ejus diei IV cal. Octobr. an. MDCCCLXXXI quo geologi post
+  conventum Bononiae habitum praeside Joanne Capellinio equite hue
+  peregrinati sunt atque adstantibus legatis flor Municipii et R.
+  Instituti Altiorum doctrinarum cineres viri inter geologos et
+  anatomicos praestantissimi in hujus templi hypogaeo laurea corona
+  honoris gratique animi ergo honestaverunt." [Footnote 12]
+
+    [Footnote 12: You behold here, traveller, the bust of Nicholas
+    Steno as it was set up by more than a thousand scientists from all
+    over the world, as a memorial to him, on the fourth of the Kalends
+    of October, 1881. The geologists of the world, after their meeting
+    in Bologna, under the presidency of Count John Capellini, made a
+    pilgrimage to his tomb, and in the presence of the chosen
+    representatives of the municipality, and of the learned professors
+    of the University, honored the mortal ashes of this man,
+    illustrious among geologists and anatomists.]
+
+
+{161}
+
+Stensen's work brought him in contact with some of the distinguished
+men of the seventeenth century, all of whom learned to appreciate his
+breadth of intelligence and acuity of judgment. We have already
+mentioned his epistolary relation with Spinoza, and have said
+something about the controversy with Leibnitz, into which, in spite of
+his disinclination to controversy generally, he was drawn by the
+circumstances of the time and the solicitation of friends. Another
+great thinker of the century with whom he was brought into intimate
+relationship was Des Cartes, the distinguished philosopher. In fact,
+Des Cartes's system of thought influenced Stensen not a little, and he
+felt, when describing the function of muscles in the human body, and
+especially when he demonstrated that the heart was a muscle, that the
+mechanical notions he was thus introducing into anatomy were likely to
+prove confirmatory of Des Cartes's philosophic speculations. Almost
+more than any other, Stensen was the father of many ideas that have
+since become common, with regard to the physics of the human body and
+its qualities as a machine.
+
+With his breadth of view, from familiarity {162} with the progress of
+science generally in his time, Steno's discussions of the reason for
+the lack of exact knowledge and for the prevalence of error, in spite
+of enthusiastic investigation, are worth while appreciating. He
+considered that the reason why so many portions of natural science are
+still in doubt is that in the investigation of natural objects no
+careful distinction is made between what is known to a certainty and
+what is known only with a certain amount of assurance. He discusses
+the question of deductive and inductive science, and considers that
+even those who depend on experience will not infrequently be found in
+error, because their conclusions are wider than their premises, and
+because it only too often happens that they admit principles as true
+for which they have no sure evidence. Stensen considered it important,
+therefore, not to hurry on in the explanation of things, but, so far
+as possible, to cling to old-time principles that had been universally
+accepted, since nearly always these would be found to contain fruitful
+germs of truth.
+
+He was universally acknowledged as one of the greatest original
+thinkers of his time, and his conversion to the Church did much to
+dissipate religious prejudices among those of German nationality. His
+influence over distinguished visitors who came to Florence, and who
+were very glad to have the opportunity of making his acquaintance, was
+such that not a few Northern visitors became, like himself, converts
+to the Church.
+
+{163}
+
+It was in the midst of this that the request of the Duke of Hanover
+came that he should consent to become the bishop of his capital city.
+It was only after Stensen had been put under holy obedience that he
+would consent to accept the proffered dignity. His first thought was
+to distribute all his goods among the poor, and betake himself even
+without shoes on his feet, on a pedestrian journey to Rome. First,
+however, he made a pilgrimage to Loretto, where he arrived so overcome
+by the fatigue of the journey that the clergyman who took care of him
+while there, insisted on his accepting a pair of shoes from him,
+though he could not prevail upon him to travel in any other way than
+on foot.
+
+His first action, after his consecration as bishop, was to write a
+letter, sending his episcopal benediction to Sister Maria Flavia, to
+whom he felt he owed the great privilege of his life. His lasting
+sense of satisfaction and consolation in his change of religion may be
+appreciated from what is, perhaps, the most interesting personal
+document that we have from Stensen's own hand, in which, on the
+eighteenth anniversary of his conversion, he writes to a friend to
+describe his feelings. "To-morrow," he says, "I shall finish, God
+willing, the eighteenth year of my happy life as a member of the
+Church. I wish to acknowledge once more my thankfulness for the part
+which you took under God in my conversion. As I hope to have the grace
+to be grateful to Him forever, so I sigh for the opportunity to
+express {164} my thankfulnes to you and your family. I can feel that
+my own ingratitude toward God, my slowness in His service, make me
+unworthy of His graces; but I hope that you who have helped me to
+enter his service will not cease to pray, so that I may obtain pardon
+for the past and grace for the future, in order in some measure to
+repay all the favors that have been conferred on me."
+
+The distinguishing characteristic of his life as a bishop was his
+insistence on poverty as the principal element of his existence. He
+refused to enter his diocese in state in the carriage which the Duke
+offered to provide for him, but proceeded there on foot. No question
+of supposed dignity could make him employ a number of servants, and
+his only retainers were converts made by himself, who helped in the
+household and whom he treated quite as equals. He became engaged in
+one controversy on religious matters, but said that he did not
+consider that converts had ever been made by controversies. He
+compared it, indeed, to the gladiatorial contests in which the
+contestants had their heads completely enveloped in armor, so as to
+prevent any possible penetration of the weapons of an opponent. He
+insisted especially that in religious controversies the contending
+parties do not realize the significance given to words by each other,
+and that therefore no good can result.
+
+After a time, Stensen did not find his work in Hamburg very
+satisfactory, because it was typically a missionary country, and the
+Jesuit {165} missionaries who had been introduced were accomplishing
+all that could be hoped for. Accordingly, when the Duke of
+Mecklenburg-Schwerin became a convert to the Catholic Church, and
+asked that Stensen should be sent as a bishop into his dukedom, the
+request was complied with. Here, in the hardest kind of labor as a
+missionary, and in the midst of poverty that was truly apostolic,
+Stensen worked out the remaining years of his life. At his death he
+was looked upon as almost a saint. Notwithstanding his close
+relationship with two reigning princes, he did not leave enough
+personal effects to defray the expenses of his funeral. Besides his
+bishop's ring, and the very simple episcopal cross he wore, he had
+nothing of any value except some relics of St. Francis Xavier, St.
+Ignatius Loyola, and St. Philip Neri, which he had prized above all
+other treasures.
+
+His missionary labors had not been marked by any very striking success
+in the number of converts made. In this his life would seem to have
+been a bitter personal disappointment. He never looked upon it as
+such, however, but continued to be eminently cheerful and friendly
+until the end. As a matter of fact, the influence of his career was to
+be felt much more two centuries after his death than during his
+lifetime. At the present moment, his life is well known in northern
+Germany, thanks to the biographic sketch written by Father Plenkers
+for the _Stimmen aus Maria Laach_, which has been very widely {166}
+circulated since its appearance in 1884. Something of the reaction
+among scientific minds in Germany toward a healthier orthodoxy of
+feeling, with regard to great religious questions, is undoubtedly due
+to the spread of the knowledge of the career of the great anatomist
+and geologist who gave up his scientific work for the sake of the
+spread of the higher truth.
+
+After his death the Medici family asked for and obtained the privilege
+of having his body buried in San Lorenzo at Florence, with the members
+of the princely Medici house. More and more do visitors realize that
+the tablet over his remains chronicles the death of a man who was
+undoubtedly one of the world's great scientists, and one of the most
+original thinkers of his time, and that time a period greatly fertile
+in the history of science.
+
+{167}
+
+VII.
+
+ABBÉ HAÜY, FATHER OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHY.
+
+
+{168}
+
+They continue this day as they were created, perfect in number and
+measure and weight, and from the ineffaceable characters impressed on
+them we may learn that those aspirations after accuracy in
+measurement, truth in statement, and justice in action, which we
+reckon among our noblest attributes as men, are ours because they are
+essential constituents of the image of Him who in the beginning
+created not only heaven and earth, but the materials of which heaven
+and earth consist.--CLERK MAXWELL _On the Molecule_, "Nature," Vol.
+VIII. 1873.
+
+
+
+[Illustration: RÉNÉ JUST HAÜY]
+
+
+{169}
+
+VII.
+
+ABBÉ HAÜY, [Footnote 13] FATHER OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
+
+  [Footnote 13: Pronounced a-ue (Century Dictionary), Nearly
+  Represented By _ah-we_.]
+
+Modern learning is gradually losing something of the self-complacency
+that characterized it in so constantly harboring the thought that the
+most important discoveries in physical science came in the nineteenth
+century. A more general attention to critical history has led to the
+realization that many of the primal discoveries whose importance made
+the development of modern science possible, came in earlier centuries,
+though their full significance was not then fully appreciated. The
+foundations of most of our modern sciences were, indeed, laid in the
+eighteenth century, but some of them came much earlier. It is genius
+alone that is able to break away from established traditions of
+knowledge, and, stepping across the boundary into the unknown, blaze a
+path along which it will be easy for subsequent workers to follow.
+Only in recent years has the due meed of appreciation for these great
+pioneers become part of the precious traditions of scientific
+knowledge.
+
+We have seen that clergymen were great original investigators in
+science in the older times and we shall find, though it may be a
+source of {170} astonishment to most people that even our modern
+science has had some supreme original workers, during the last two
+centuries, in the ranks of the Catholic clergy.
+
+The eighteenth century was not behind the seventeenth in original
+contributions made to science by clergymen. About the middle of the
+century, a Premonstratensian monk, Procopius Dirwisch by name, of the
+little town of Prenditz in Bohemia, demonstrated the identity of
+electrical phenomena with lightning, thus anticipating the work of our
+own Franklin. Dirwisch dared to set up a lightning-conductor, by which
+during thunderstorms he obtained sparks from clouds, and also learned
+to appreciate the danger involved in this experiment. When, in 1751,
+he printed his article on this subject, he pointed out this danger.
+His warning, however, was not always heeded, and at least one
+subsequent experimenter was struck dead by a charge of electricity.
+
+Just at the junction of the last two centuries, Father Piazzi enriched
+the realm of science by one of the most important of modern
+discoveries in astronomy. On the night of 31 December, 1800--1
+January, 1801, he discovered the little planet Ceres. This was the
+first of the asteroids, so many more of which were to be revealed to
+astronomical study during the next half-century. Father Piazzi's
+discovery was made, not by accident, but as the result of detailed
+astronomical work of the most painstaking character. He {171} had set
+out to make a map of the heavens, and to determine and locate the
+absolute position of all the visible stars. He had succeeded in
+cataloguing over 7,000 stars when his attention was called to one,
+hitherto supposed to be fixed, which he found had moved, during the
+interval between two observations, from its original position. He made
+still other observations, and thus determined the fact that it was a
+planetoid and not a fixed star with which he had to deal. Needless to
+say, his discovery proved a strong incentive to patient astronomical
+study of the same kind; and it is to these, rather than to great
+single discoveries, that we owe whatever progress in astronomy was
+made during the nineteenth century.
+
+Contemporary with both of these last-mentioned men, and worthy to
+share in the scientific honors that were theirs, was the Abbé Haüy,
+who toward the end of the second half of the eighteenth century
+founded the science of crystallography; made a series of observations
+the value of which can never be disputed, originated theories some of
+which have served down to our own time as the basis of crystal
+knowledge, and attracted the attention of many students to the new
+science because of his charming personal character and his winning
+teaching methods. His life is a typical example of the value of work
+done in patient obscurity, founded on observation, and not on
+brilliant theories; and what he accomplished stamps him as one of the
+great {172} scientific geniuses of all time--one of the men who
+widened the bounds of knowledge in directions hitherto considered
+inaccessible to the ordinary methods of human investigation.
+
+It is a commonplace of the lecturer on popular science at the present
+day, that the impulse to the development of our modern scientific
+discoveries which became so marked toward the end of the eighteenth
+century, was due in a noteworthy degree to the work of the French
+Encyclopedists. Their bringing together of all the details of
+knowledge in a form in which it could be readily consulted, and in
+which previous progress and the special lines of advance could be
+realized, might be expected to prove a fruitful source of suggestive
+investigation. As a matter of fact, however, a detailed knowledge of
+the past in science often seems to be rather a hindrance than a help
+to original genius, always prone to take its own way if not too much
+disturbed by the conventional knowledge already gained. Most of the
+great discoverers in science were comparatively young men when they
+began their careers as original investigators; and it was apparently
+their freedom from the incubus of too copious information that left
+their minds untrammelled to follow their own bent in seeking for
+causes where others had failed to find any hints of possible
+developments.
+
+This was certainly the case with regard to many of those distinguished
+founders who lived in centuries prior to the nineteenth. Most of {173}
+them were men under thirty years of age, and not one of them had been
+noted, before he began his own researches, for the extent of his
+knowledge in the particular department of science in which his work
+was to prove so fruitful. Their lives illustrate the essential
+difference there is between theory and observation in science. The
+theorizer reaches conclusions that are popular as a rule in his own
+generation, and receives the honor due to a progressive scientist; the
+observer usually has his announcements of what he has actually seen
+scouted by those who are engaged in the same studies, and it is only
+succeeding generations who appreciate how much he really accomplished.
+
+This was especially exemplified in the case of the Abbé Haüy, whose
+work in crystallography was to mean so much. What he learned was not
+from books, but from contact with the actual objects of his department
+of science; and it is because the example of a life like this can
+scarcely fail to serve a good purpose for the twentieth-century
+student, in impressing the lesson of the value of observation as
+opposed to theory, that its details are retold.
+
+Réné Just Haüy was born 28 February, 1743, in the little village of
+Saint-Just, in the Department of Oise, somewhat north of the center of
+France. Like many another great genius, he was the son of very poor
+parents. His father was a struggling linen-weaver, who was able to
+support himself only with difficulty. At first {174} there seemed to
+be no other prospect for his eldest son than to succeed to his
+father's business. Certainly there seemed to be no possibility that he
+should be able to gain his livelihood by any other means than by the
+work of his hands.
+
+Fortunately, however, there was in Haüy's native town a
+Premonstratensian monastery, and it was not long before some of the
+monks began to notice that the son of the weaver was of an especially
+pious disposition and attended church ceremonies very faithfully. The
+chance was given to him to attend the monastery school, and he
+succeeded admirably in his studies. As a consequence, the prior had
+his attention directed to the boy, and found in him the signs of a
+superior intelligence. He summoned the lad's parents and discussed
+with them the possibility of obtaining for their son an education.
+There were many difficulties in the way, but the principal one was
+their absolute financial inability to help him. If the son was to
+obtain an education, it must be somehow through his own efforts, and
+without any expense to his parents.
+
+The prior thereupon obtained for young Haüy a position as a member of
+a church choir in Paris; and, later, some of those to whom he had
+recommended the boy secured for him a place in the college of Navarre.
+Here, during the course of a few years, he made such an impression
+upon the members of the faculty that they asked him to become one of
+the teaching corps of the institution. It was a very modest position
+that he {175} held, and his salary scarcely more than paid for his
+board and clothes and a few books. Haüy was well satisfied, however,
+because his position provided him with opportunities for pursuing the
+studies for which he cared most. At this time he was interested mainly
+in literature, and succeeded in learning several languages, which were
+to be of considerable use to him later on in his scientific career.
+
+After some years spent in the college of Navarre he was ordained
+priest, and not long afterward became a member of the faculty of the
+college of Cardinal Lemoine. Here his position was somewhat better,
+and he was brought in contact with many of the prominent scholars of
+Paris. He seems, however, to have been quite contented in his rather
+narrow circle of interests, and was not specially anxious to advance
+himself. It is rather curious to realize that a man who was later to
+spend all his time in the pursuit of the physical sciences, knew
+practically nothing at all about them, and certainly had no special
+interest in any particular branch of science, until he reached the age
+of almost thirty years.
+
+Even then his first introduction to serious science did not come
+because of any special interest that had been aroused in his own mind,
+but entirely because of his friendship for a distinguished old
+fellow-professor, whose walks he used to share, and who was deeply
+interested in botany. This was the Abbé Lhomond, a very {176}
+well-known scholar, to whom we owe a number of classic text-books
+arranged especially for young folk.
+
+The Abbé's recreation consisted in botanizing expeditions; and Haüy,
+who had chosen the kindly old priest as his spiritual director, was
+his most frequent companion. Occasionally, when M. Lhomond was ailing,
+and unable to take his usual walks, Haüy spent the time with him. He
+rather regretted the fact that he did not know enough about botany to
+be able to make collections of certain plants to bring to the
+professor at such times, in order that the latter might not entirely
+miss his favorite recreation. Accordingly, one summer when he was on
+his vacation at his country home, he asked one of the
+Premonstratensian monks, who was very much interested in botany, to
+teach him the principles of the science, so as to enable him to
+recognize various plants. Of course his request was granted. He
+expected to have a pleasant surprise for Abbé Lhomond on his return,
+and to draw even closer in his friendly relations with him, because of
+their mutual interest in what the old Abbé called his _scientia
+amabilis_ (lovely science). His little plan worked to perfection, and
+there was won for the study of physical science a new recruit, who was
+to do as much as probably any one of his generation to extend
+scientific knowledge in one department, though that department was
+rather distant from botany.
+
+Haüy's interest in botany, however, was to {177} prove only temporary.
+It brought him in contact with other departments of natural history,
+and it was not long before he found that his favorite study was that
+of minerals, and especially of the various forms of crystals. So
+absorbed did he become in this subject that nothing pleased him better
+than the opportunity to spend long days in the investigation of the
+comparative size and shape of the crystals in the museum at Paris. A
+friend has said of him that, whether they were the most precious
+stones and gems or the most worthless specimens of ordinary minerals,
+it was always only their crystalline shape that interested Haüy.
+Diamonds he studied, but only in order to determine their angles; and
+apparently they had no more attraction for him than any other
+well-defined crystal--much less, indeed, than some of the more complex
+crystalline varieties, which attracted his interest because of the
+difficulty of the problems they presented.
+
+Like many another advance in science, Haüy's first great original step
+in crystallography was the result of what would be called a lucky
+accident. These accidents, however, be it noted, happen only to
+geniuses who are capable of taking advantage of them. How many a man
+had seen an apple fall from a tree before this little circumstance
+gave Newton the hint from which grew, eventually, the laws of gravity!
+Many a man, doubtless, had seen little boys tapping on logs of wood,
+to hear how well sound was {178} carried through a solid body, without
+getting from this any hint, such as Laennec derived from it, for the
+invention of the stethoscope. So, too, many a person before Haüy's
+time had seen a crystal fall and break, leaving a smooth surface,
+without deriving any hint for the explanation of the origin of
+crystals.
+
+According to the familiar story, Haüy was one day looking over a
+collection of very fine crystals in the house of Citizen Du Croisset,
+Treasurer of France. He was examining an especially fine specimen of
+calcspar, when it fell from his hands and was broken. Of course the
+visitor was much disturbed by this accident. His friend, however, in
+order to show him that he was not at all put out at the breaking of
+the crystal, insisted on Haüy's taking it with him for purposes of
+study, as they had both been very much interested in the perfectly
+smooth plane of the fracture. As Haüy himself says, this broken
+portion had a peculiarly brilliant lustre, "polished, as it were by
+nature," as beautifully as the outer portions of the crystal; thus
+demonstrating that in building up of so large a crystal there must
+have been certain steps of progress, at any of which, were the
+formation arrested, smooth surfaces would be found.
+
+On taking the crystal home, Haüy proceeded further to break up the
+smaller fragment; and he soon found that he could remove slice after
+slice of it, until there was no trace of the original prism, but in
+place of it a rhomboid, {179} perfectly similar to Iceland spar, and
+lying in the middle of what was the original prism. This fact seemed
+to him very important. From it he began the development of a theory of
+crystallization, using this observation as the key. Before this time
+it had been hard for students of mineralogy to understand how it was
+that substances of the same composition might yet have what seemed to
+be different crystalline forms. Calcspar, for instance, might be found
+crystallized in forms, apparently, quite at variance with one another.
+
+By his studies, however, Haüy was able to determine that whenever
+substances of the same composition crystallized, even though the
+external form of the crystals seemed to be different, all of them were
+found to have the same internal nucleus. Whenever the mineral under
+observation was chemically different from another, then the nucleus
+also had a distinctive character; and so there came the law that all
+substances of the same kind crystallized in the same way,
+notwithstanding apparent differences. Indeed, one of the first results
+of this law was the recognition of the fact that when the crystalline
+forms of two minerals were essentially different, then, no matter how
+similar they might be, there was sure to be some chemical difference.
+This enabled Haüy to make certain prophecies with regard to the
+composition of minerals.
+
+A number of different kinds of crystals had been classed together
+under the name of {180} heavyspar. Some of these could not, by the
+splitting process, be made to produce _nuclei_ of similar forms, and
+the angles of the crystals were quite different. Haüy insisted that,
+in spite of close resemblances, there was an essential distinction in
+the chemical composition of these two different crystalline
+formations; and before long careful investigation showed that, while
+many of the specimens called heavyspar contain barium, some of them
+contain a new substance--strontium--which had been very little
+studied heretofore. This principle did not prove to be absolute in its
+application; but the amount of truth in it attracted attention to the
+subject of crystallography because of the help which that science
+would afford in the easy recognition of the general chemical
+composition of mineral substances. The most important part of Haüy's
+work was the annunciation of the law of symmetry. He emphasized the
+fact that the forms of crystals are not irregular or capricious, but
+are very constant and definite, and founded on absolutely fixed and
+ascertainable laws. He even showed that, while from certain
+crystalline nuclei sundry secondary forms may be derived, there are
+other forms that cannot by any possibility occur. Any change of
+crystalline form noticed in his experiments led to a corresponding
+change along all similar parts of the crystal. The angles, the edges,
+the faces, were modified in the same way, at the same time. All these
+elements of mensuration within the crystal Haüy thought could be
+indicated by rational coefficients.
+
+{181}
+
+Crystallography, however, did not absorb all Haüy's attention. He
+further demonstrated his intellectual power by following out other
+important lines of investigation that had been suggested by his study
+of crystals. It is to him more than to any other, for instance, that
+is due the first steps in our knowledge of pyro-(or thermo-)
+electricity. Mr. George Chrystal, professor of mathematics at the
+University of St. Andrews, in the article on electricity written for
+the ninth edition of the Encyclopedia, says it was reserved for the
+Abbé Haüy in his Treatise on Mineralogy to throw a clear light on this
+curious branch of the science of electricity.
+
+To those who are familiar with the history of the development of this
+science it will be no surprise to find a clergyman playing a prominent
+role in its development. During the days of the beginning of
+electricity many ecclesiastics seem to have been particularly
+interested in the curious ways of electrical phenomena, and as a
+consequence they are the original discoverers of some of the most
+important early advances. Not long before this, Professor Gordon, a
+Scotch Benedictine monk who was teaching at the University of Erfurt,
+constructed the first practical electrical machine. Kleist, who is one
+of the three men to whom is attributed the discovery of the principle
+of storing and concentrating electricity, and who invented the Leyden
+Jar, which was named after the town where it was first manufactured,
+was also a member of a Religious Order. As {182} we have already
+stated, Dirwisch, the Premonstratensian monk, set up a
+lightning-conductor by which he obtained sparks from the clouds even
+before our own Franklin.
+
+Abbé Haüy was only following a very common precedent, then, when he
+succeeded by his original research in setting the science of
+pyro-electricity firmly on its feet. It is true, others before him had
+noted that substances like tourmaline possessed electrical properties.
+There is even some good reason for thinking that the _lyncurium_ of
+the ancients which, according to certain of the Greek philosophers,
+especially Theophrastus, who seems to have made a close study of the
+subject, attracted light bodies, was really our modern tourmaline. In
+modern times the Dutch found this mineral in Ceylon and, because it
+attracted ashes and other light substances to itself, called it
+_aschentriker_--that is, attractor of ashes. Others had still further
+experimented with this curious substance and its interesting
+electrical phenomena. It remained for Abbé Haüy, however, to
+demonstrate the scientific properties of tourmaline and the relations
+which its electrical phenomena bore toward the crystalline structure
+of the mineral. He showed that the electricity of tourmaline decreases
+rapidly from the summits or poles toward the middle of the crystal. As
+a matter of fact, at the middle of the crystal its electrical power
+becomes imperceptible.
+
+He showed also that each particle of a crystal {183} that exhibits
+pyro-electricity is itself a source of the same sort of electricity
+and exhibits polarity. His experimental observations served to prove
+also that the pyro-electric state has an important connexion with the
+want of symmetry in the crystals of the substances that exhibit this
+curious property. In tourmaline, for instance, he found the vitreous
+charge always at the summit of the crystal which had six faces, and
+the resinous electricity at the summit of the crystal with three
+faces.
+
+His experiments soon showed him, too, that there were a number of
+other substances, besides tourmaline, which possessed this same
+electrical property when subjected to heat in the crystalline stage.
+Among these were the Siberian and Brazilian topaz, borate of magnesia,
+mesotype, sphene, and calamine. In all of these other pyro-electrical
+crystals, Haüy detected a corresponding deviation from the rules of
+symmetry in their secondary crystals to that which occurs in
+tourmaline. In a word, after he had concluded his experiments and
+observations there was very little left for others to add to this
+branch of science, although such distinguished men as Sir David
+Brewster in England were among his successors in the study of the
+peculiar phenomena of pyro-electricity.
+
+It may naturally enough be thought that, born in the country, of poor
+parents, and compelled to work for his living, Haüy would at least
+have the advantage of rugged health to help him in his {184} career.
+He had been a delicate child, however; and his physical condition
+never improved to such an extent as to inure him to hardships of any
+kind. One of his biographers has gone so far as to say that his life
+was one long malady. The only distraction from his almost constant
+suffering was his studies. Yet this man lived to be nearly eighty
+years of age, and accomplished an amount of work that might well be
+envied even by the hardiest.
+
+In the midst of his magnificent success as a scientist, Haüy was
+faithful to all his obligations as a priest. His name was known
+throughout Europe, and many of the scientific societies had considered
+that they were honoring themselves by conferring titles, or degrees,
+upon him; but he continued to be the humble, simple student that he
+had always been.
+
+At the beginning of the Revolution, Abbé Haüy was among the priests
+who refused the oath which the Republican government insisted on their
+taking, and which so many of them considered derogatory to their duty
+as churchmen. Those who refused were thrown into prison, Haüy among
+them. He did not seem to mind his incarceration much, but he was not a
+little perturbed by the fact that the officers who made the arrest
+insisted on taking his precious papers, and that his crystals were all
+tossed aside and many of them broken. For some time he was kept in
+confinement with a number of other members of the faculty of the
+University, mainly {185} clergymen, in the Seminary of St. Firmin,
+which had been turned into a temporary jail.
+
+Haüy did not allow his studies to be entirely interrupted by his
+imprisonment. He succeeded in obtaining permission to have his
+cabinets of crystals brought to his cell, and he continued his
+investigation of them. It was not long before powerful friends, and
+especially his scientific colleague, Gregory St. Hilaire, interested
+themselves in his case, and succeeded in obtaining his liberation.
+When the order for his release came, however, Haüy was engaged on a
+very interesting problem in crystallography, and he refused to
+interrupt his work and leave the prison. It was only after
+considerable persuasion that he consented to go the next morning. It
+may be added that only two weeks later many from this same prison were
+sent to the guillotine.
+
+It is rather remarkable that the Revolutionary government, after his
+release, did not disturb him in any way. He was so much occupied with
+his scientific pursuits that he seems to have been considered
+absolutely incapable of antagonizing the government; and, as he had no
+enemies, he was not denounced to the Convention. This was fortunate,
+because it enabled him to pursue his studies in peace. There was many
+another member of the faculty of the University who had not the same
+good fortune. Lavoisier was thrown into prison, and, in spite of all
+the influence that could be brought to bear, the great discoverer of
+oxygen met his death by the guillotine. At least {186} two others of
+the professors in the physical department, Borda and De Lambre, were
+dismissed from their posts. Haüy, though himself a priest who had
+refused to take the oath, and though he continued to exercise his
+religious functions, did not hesitate to formulate petitions for his
+imprisoned scientific friends; yet, because of his well-known
+gentleness of character, this did not result in arousing the enmity of
+any members of the government, or attracting such odious attention as
+might have made his religious and scientific work extremely difficult
+or even prevented it entirely.
+
+Notwithstanding the stormy times of the French Revolution and the
+stirring events going on all round him in Paris, Haüy continued to
+study his crystals in order to complete his observations; and then he
+embodied his investigations and his theories in his famous "Treatise
+on Crystallography." This attracted attention not only on account of
+the evident novelty of the subject, but more especially because of the
+very thorough method with which Haüy had accomplished his work. His
+style, says the historian of crystallography, was "perspicuous and
+elegant. The volume itself was noteworthy for its clear arrangement
+and full illustration by figures." In spite of its deficiencies, then
+deficiencies which must exist in any ground-breaking work--this
+monograph has had an enduring influence. Some of the most serious
+flaws in his theory were soon brought to light because of the very
+stimulus afforded by his investigations.
+
+{187}
+
+As to the real value of his treatise, perhaps no better estimate can
+be formed than that given by Cuvier in his collection of historical
+eulogies (Vol. III, p. 155): "In possession of a large collection, to
+which there flowed from all sides the most varied minerals, arranged
+with the assistance of young, enthusiastic, and progressive students,
+it was not long before there was given back to Haüy the time which he
+had apparently wasted over other things. In a few years he raised up a
+wondrous monument, which brought as much glory to France as it did
+somewhat later to himself. After centuries of neglect, his country at
+one bound found itself in the first rank in this department of natural
+science. In Haüy's book are united in the highest degree two qualities
+which are seldom associated. One of these is that it was founded on an
+original discovery which had sprung entirely from the genius of its
+author; and the other is that this discovery is pursued and developed
+with almost unheard-of persistence down even to the least important
+mineral variety. Everything in the work is great, both as regards
+conception and detail. It is as complete as the theory it announces."
+
+It was not surprising, then, that, after the death of Professor
+Dolomieu, Haüy should be raised to the chair of mineralogy and made
+director of that department in the Paris Museum of Natural History.
+Here he was to have new triumphs. We have already said that his book
+was noted for the elegance of its style and its perspicuity. {188} As
+the result of this absolute clearness of ideas, and completeness and
+simplicity of expression, Haüy attracted to him a large number of
+pupils. Moreover, all those interested in the science, when they came
+in contact with him, were so charmed by his grace and simplicity of
+manner that they were very glad to attend his lectures and to be
+considered as his personal friends. Among his listeners were often
+such men as La Place, Berthollet, Fourcroy, Lagrange and Lavoisier.
+
+It was not long before honors of all kinds, degrees from universities
+and memberships in scientific societies all over Europe, began to be
+heaped upon Haüy. They did not, however, cause any change in the
+manners or mode of life of the simple professor of old times. Every
+day he continued to take his little walks through the city, and was
+very glad to have opportunity to be of assistance to others. He showed
+strangers the way to points of interest for which they inquired,
+whenever it was necessary, obtained entrance cards for them to the
+collection; and not a few of those who were thus enabled to take
+advantage of his kindness failed to realize who the distinguished man
+was to whom they owed their opportunities. His old-fashioned clothing
+still continued to be quite good enough for him, and his modest
+demeanor and simple speech did not betray in any way the distinguished
+scientist he had become.
+
+Some idea of the consideration in which the {189} Abbé Haüy was held
+by his contemporaries may be gathered from the fact that several of
+the reigning monarchs of Europe, as well as the heirs apparent to many
+thrones, came at some time or other to visit him, to see his
+collection, and to hear the kindly old man talk on his hobby. There
+was only one other scientist in the nineteenth century--and that was
+Pasteur, toward the end of it--who attracted as much attention from
+royalty. Among Haüy's visitors were the King of Prussia, the Emperor
+of Austria, the Archduke John, as well as the Emperor of Russia and
+his two brothers, Nicholas and Michael, the first of whom succeeded
+his elder brother, Alexander, to the throne, and half a century later
+was ruling Russia during the Crimean War. The Prince Royal of Denmark
+spent a portion of each year for several years with Haüy, being one of
+his intimates, who was admitted to his room while he was confined to
+his bed, and who was permitted to share his personal investigations
+and scientific studies.
+
+His most striking characteristic was his suavity toward all. The
+humblest of his students was as sure to receive a kindly reception
+from him, and to have his difficulties solved with as much patience as
+the most distinguished professor in this department. It was said that
+he had students of all classes. The attendants at the normal school
+were invited to visit him at his house, and he permitted them to learn
+all his secrets. When they came to him for a whole {190} day, he
+insisted on taking part in their games, and allowed them to go home
+only after they had taken supper with him. All of them looked upon him
+as a personal friend, and some of them were more confidential with him
+than with their nearest relatives. Many a young man in Paris during
+the troublous times of the Revolutionary period found in the good Abbé
+Haüy not only a kind friend, but a wise director and another father.
+
+It is said that one day, when taking his usual walk, he came upon two
+former soldiers who were just preparing to fight a duel and were on
+their way to the dueling ground. He succeeded in getting them to tell
+him the cause of their quarrel, and after a time tempted them to come
+with him into what I fear we should call at the present day a saloon.
+Here, over a glass of wine, he finally persuaded them to make peace
+and seal it effectually. It is hard to reconcile this absolute
+simplicity of character and kindness of heart with what is sometimes
+assumed to be the typical, distant, abstracted, self-centered ways of
+the great scientist.
+
+Few men have had so many proofs of the lofty appreciation of great
+contemporaries. Many incidents serve to show how much Napoleon thought
+of the distinguished scholar who had created a new department of
+science and attracted the attention of the world to his splendid work
+at Paris. Not long after he became emperor, Napoleon named him
+Honorary Canon of the {191} Cathedral of Notre Dame; and when he
+founded the Legion of Honor, he made the Abbé one of the original
+members. Shortly after these dignities had been conferred upon him, it
+happened that the Abbé fell ill; and Napoleon, having sent his own
+physician to him, went personally to call on him in his humble
+quarters, saying to the physician: "Remember that you must cure Abbé
+Haüy, and restore him to us as one of the glories of our reign." After
+Napoleon's return from Elba, he told the Abbé that the latter's
+"Treatise on Crystallography" was one of the books that he had
+specially selected to take with him to Elba, to while away the leisure
+that he thought he would have for many years. Abbé Haüy's independence
+of spirit, and his unselfish devotion to his native country, may be
+best appreciated from the tradition that after the return from Elba,
+when there was a popular vote for the confirmation of Napoleon's
+second usurpation, the old scientist voted, No.
+
+In spite of his constant labor at his investigations, his uniformly
+regular life enabled him to maintain his health, and he lived to the
+ripe age of over seventy-nine. Toward the end of his career, he did
+not obtain the recognition that his labors deserved. After the
+Restoration, he was not in favor with the new authorities in France,
+and he accordingly lost his position as professor at the University.
+The absolute simplicity of life that he had always maintained now
+stood him in good stead; and, notwithstanding the {192} smallness of
+his income, he did not have to make any change in his ordinary
+routine. Unfortunately, an accidental fall in his room at the
+beginning of his eightieth year confined him to his bed; and then his
+health began to fail very seriously. He died on the 3 June, 1822.
+
+He had shown during his illness the same gentleness and humility, and
+even enthusiasm for study whenever it was possible, that had always
+characterized him. While he was confined to his bed he divided his
+time between prayer, attention to the new edition of his works which
+was about to appear, and his interest for the future of those students
+who had helped him in his investigations. Cuvier says of him that "he
+was as faithful to his religious duties as he was in the pursuit of
+his studies. The profoundest speculations with regard to weighty
+matters of science had not kept him from the least important duty
+which ecclesiastical regulations might require of him." There is,
+perhaps, no life in all the history of science which shows so clearly
+how absolutely untrue is the declaration so often made, that there is
+essential opposition between the intellectual disposition of the
+inquiring scientist and those other mental qualities which are
+necessary to enable the Christian to bow humbly before the mysteries
+of religion, acknowledge all that is beyond understanding in what has
+been revealed, and observe faithfully all the duties that flow from
+such belief.
+
+{193}
+
+VIII.
+
+ABBOT MENDEL: A NEW OUTLOOK IN HEREDITY.
+
+
+
+There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers having
+been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one;
+and that, while this planet has gone circling on according to the
+fixed law of gravity from so simple a beginning, endless forms, most
+beautiful and most wonderful, have been and are being evolved.--
+Closing sentence of DARWIN'S _Origin of Species_.
+
+
+{194}
+
+[Illustration: GREGOR MENDEL]
+
+
+{195}
+
+
+VIII.
+
+ABBOT MENDEL, [Footnote 14]: A NEW, OUTLOOK IN HEREDITY.
+
+  [Footnote 14: The portrait of Abbot Mendel which precedes this
+  sketch was kindly furnished by the Vicar of the Augustinian
+  Monastery of Brünn. It represents him holding a fuchsia, his
+  favorite flower, and was taken in 1867, just as he was completing
+  the researches which were a generation later to make his name so
+  famous. The portrait has for this reason a very special interest as
+  a human document. We may add that the sketch of Abbot Mendel which
+  appears here was read by the Very Rev. Klemens Janetschek, the
+  Vicar of the Monastery, who suggested one slight change in it, so
+  that it may be said to have had the revision of one who knew him and
+  his environment very well.]
+
+
+Scientific progress does not run in cycles of centuries, and as a rule
+it bears no relationship to the conventional arrangement of years. As
+has been well said--for science a new century begins every second.
+There are interesting coincidences, however, of epoch-making
+discoveries in science corresponding with the beginning of definite
+eras in time that are at least impressive from a mnemonic standpoint,
+if from no other.
+
+The very eve of the nineteenth century saw the first definite
+formulation of the theory of evolution. Lamarck, the distinguished
+French biologist, stated a theory of development in nature which,
+although it attracted very little attention {196} for many years after
+its publication, has come in our day to be recognized as the most
+suggestive advance in biology in modern times.
+
+As we begin the twentieth century, the most interesting question in
+biology is undoubtedly that of heredity. Just at the dawn of the
+century three distinguished scientists, working in different
+countries, rediscovered a law with regard to heredity which promises
+to be even more important for the science of biology in the twentieth
+century than was Lamarck's work for the nineteenth century. This law,
+which, it is thought, will do more to simplify the problems of
+heredity than all the observations and theories of nineteenth-century
+workers, and which has already done much more to point out the methods
+by which observation, and the lines along which experimentation shall
+be best directed so as to replace elaborate but untrustworthy
+scientific theorizing by definite knowledge, was discovered by a
+member of a small religious community in the little-known town of
+Brünn, in Austria, some thirty-five years before the beginning of the
+present century.
+
+Considering how generally, in English-speaking countries at least, it
+is supposed that the training of a clergyman and particularly that of
+a religious unfits him for any such initiative in science, Father
+Mendel's discovery comes with all the more emphatic surprise. There is
+no doubt, however, in the minds of many of the most prominent
+present-day workers in biology that his {197} discoveries are of a
+ground-breaking character that will furnish substantial foundation for
+a new development of scientific knowledge with regard to heredity.
+
+Lest it should be thought that perhaps there is a tendency to make
+Father Mendel's discovery appear more important here than it really
+is, because of his station in life, it seems desirable to quote some
+recent authoritative expressions of opinion with regard to the value
+of his observations and the importance of the law he enunciated, as
+well as the principle which he considered to be the explanation of
+that law.
+
+In the February number of _Harper's Monthly_ for 1903, Professor
+Thomas Hunt Morgan, Professor of Biology at Bryn Mawr, and one of the
+best known of our American biologists, whose recent work on
+"Regeneration" has attracted favorable notice all over the world,
+calls attention to the revolutionary character of Mendel's discovery.
+He considers that recent demonstrations of the mathematical truth of
+Mendel's Law absolutely confirm Mendel's original observations, and
+the movement thus initiated, in Professor Morgan's eyes, gives the
+final _coup de grace_ to the theory of natural selection. "If," he
+says, "we reject Darwin's theory of natural selection as an
+explanation of evolution, we have at least a new and promising outlook
+in another direction and are in a position to answer the oft-heard but
+unscientific query of those who must cling to some dogma: if you
+reject Darwin, what better have you to offer?"
+
+{198}
+
+Professor Edmund B. Wilson, the Director of the Zoological Laboratory
+of Columbia University, called attention in _Science_ (19 December,
+1902) to the fact that studies in cytology, that is to say,
+observations on the formation, development, and maturation of cells,
+confirm Mendel's principles of inheritance and thus furnish another
+proof of the truth of these principles.
+
+Two students working in Professor Wilson's laboratory have obtained
+definite evidence in favor of the cytological explanation of Mendel's
+principles, and have thus made an important step in the solution of
+one of the important fundamental mysteries of cell development in the
+very early life of organisms.
+
+In a paper read before the American Academy of Arts and Sciences last
+year, Professor W. E. Castle, of Harvard University, said with regard
+to Mendel's Law of Heredity:--
+
+  What will doubtless rank as one of the greatest discoveries in the
+  study of biology, and in the study of heredity, perhaps the
+  greatest, was made by Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk, in the garden
+  of his cloister, some forty years ago. The discovery was announced
+  in the proceedings of a fairly well-known scientific society, but
+  seems to have attracted little attention, and to have been soon
+  forgotten. The Darwinian theory then occupied the centre of the
+  scientific stage, and Mendel's brilliant discovery was all but
+  unnoticed for a third of a century. Meanwhile, the discussion
+  aroused by Weissman's germ plasm theory, in particular the idea of
+  the non-inheritance of acquired characters, put the scientific
+  public into a more receptive frame of mind. Mendel's law was
+  rediscovered {199} independently by three different botanists,
+  engaged in the study of plant hybrids--de Vries, Correns, and
+  Tschermak, in the year 1900. It remained, however, for a zoologist,
+  Bateson, two years later, to point out the full importance and the
+  wide applicability of the law. Since then the Mendelian discoveries
+  have attracted the attention of biologists generally.
+  [Footnote 15]
+
+    [Footnote 15: This paper was originally published in part in the
+    _Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences_, Vol.
+    xxxviii, No. 18, January, 1903. It may be found complete in
+    _Science_ for 25 September, 1903.]
+
+
+Professor Bateson, whose book on Mendel's "Principles of Heredity" is
+the best popular exposition in English of Mendel's work, says that an
+exact determination of the laws of heredity will probably produce more
+change in man's outlook upon the world and in his power over nature
+than any other advance in natural knowledge that can be clearly
+foreseen. No one has better opportunities of pursuing such work than
+horticulturists and stockbreeders. They are daily witnesses of the
+phenomena of heredity. Their success also depends largely on a
+knowledge of its laws, and obviously every increase in that knowledge
+is of direct and special importance to them.
+
+After thus insisting on the theoretic and practical importance of the
+subject, Professor Bateson says:--
+
+  As regards the Mendelian principles which it is the chief aim of
+  this introduction to present clearly before the reader, it may be
+  said that by the {200} application of those principles we are
+  enabled to reach and deal in a comprehensive manner with phenomena
+  of a fundamental nature, lying at the very root of all conceptions
+  not merely of the physiology of reproduction and heredity, but even
+  of the essential nature of living organisms; and I think that I use
+  no extravagant words when, in introducing Mendel's work to the
+  notice of the Royal Horticultural Society's Journal, I ventured to
+  declare that his experiments are worthy to rank with those which
+  laid the foundation of the atomic laws of chemistry.
+
+Professor L. H. Bailey, who is the Director of the Horticultural
+Department at Cornell University and the editor of the authoritative
+_Encyclopedia of Horticulture_, was one of the first of recent
+scientists to call attention to Mendel's work. It was, we believe,
+because of a reference to Mendel's papers by Bailey that Professor de
+Vries was put on the track of Mendel's discoveries and found that the
+Austrian monk had completely anticipated the work at which he was then
+engaged. In a recent issue of _The Independent_, of New York,
+Professor Bailey said:--
+
+  The teaching of Mendel strikes at the root of two or three difficult
+  and vital problems. It presents a new conception of the proximate
+  mechanism of heredity. The hypothesis of heredity that it suggests
+  will focus our attention along new lines, and will, I believe,
+  arouse as much discussion as Weissmann's hypothesis, and it is
+  probable that it will have a wider influence. Whether it expresses
+  the actual means of heredity or not, it is yet much too early to
+  say. But the hypothesis (which Father Mendel evolved in order to
+  explain the reasons for his law as he saw them) is even a {201}
+  greater contribution to science than the so-called Mendel's Law as
+  to the numerical results of hybridization. In the general discussion
+  of evolution Mendel's work will be of the greatest value because it
+  introduces a new point of view, challenges old ideas and opinions,
+  gives us a new theory for discussion, emphasizes the great
+  importance of actual experiments for the solution of many questions
+  of evolution, and then forces the necessity for giving greater
+  attention to the real characters and attributes of plants and
+  animals than to the vague groups that we are in the habit of calling
+  species.
+
+It is very evident that a man of whose work so many authorities are
+agreed that it is the beginning of a new era in biology, and
+especially in that most interesting of all questions, heredity, must
+be worthy of close acquaintance. Hence the present sketch of his
+career and personality, as far as they are ascertainable, for his
+modesty, and the failure of the world to recognize his worth in his
+lifetime, have unfortunately deprived us of many details that would
+have been precious.
+
+Gregor Johann Mendel was born 27 July, 1822, at Heinzendorf, nor far
+from Odrau, in Austrian Silesia. He was the son of a well-to-do
+peasant farmer, who gave him every opportunity of getting a good
+education when he was young. He was educated at Olmutz, in Moravia,
+and after graduating from the college there, at the age of twenty-one,
+he entered as a novice the Augustinian Order, beginning his novitiate
+in 1843 in the Augustinian monastery Königen-kloster, in Altbrünn. He
+was very successful in {202} his theological studies, and in 1846 he
+was ordained priest. He seems to have made a striking success as a
+teacher, especially of natural history and physics, in the higher
+Realschule in Brünn. He attracted the attention of his superiors, who
+were persuaded to give him additional opportunities for the study of
+the sciences, particularly of biological science, for which he had a
+distinct liking and special talents.
+
+Accordingly, in 1851 he went to Vienna for the purpose of doing
+post-graduate work in the natural sciences at the university there.
+During the two years he spent at this institution he attracted
+attention by his serious application to study, but apparently without
+having given any special evidence of the talent for original
+observation that was in him. In 1853 he returned to the monastery in
+Altbrünn, and at the beginning of the school year became a teacher at
+the Realschule in Brünn. He remained in Brünn for the rest of his
+life, dying at the comparatively early age of sixty-two, in 1884.
+During the last sixteen years of his life he held the position of
+abbot of the monastery, the duties of which prevented him from
+applying himself as he probably would have desired, to the further
+investigation of scientific questions.
+
+The experiments on which his great discoveries were founded were
+carried out in the garden of the monastery during the sixteen years
+from 1853 to 1868. How serious was his scientific devotion may be
+gathered from the fact that in {203} establishing the law which now
+bears his name, and which was founded on observations on peas, some
+10,000 plants were carefully examined, their various peculiarities
+noted, their ancestry carefully traced, the seeds kept in definite
+order and entirely separate, so as to be used for the study of certain
+qualities in their descendants, and the whole scheme of
+experimentation planned with such detail that for the first time in
+the history of studies in heredity, no extraneous and inexplicable
+data were allowed to enter the problem. Besides his work on plants,
+Mendel occupied himself with other observations of a scientific
+character on two subjects which were at that time attracting
+considerable attention. These were the state and condition of the
+ground-water--a subject which was thought to stand at the basis of
+hygienic principles at the time and which had occupied the attention
+of the distinguished Professor Pettenkofer and the Munich School of
+Hygiene for many years--and weather observations. At that time
+Pettenkofer, the most widely known of sanitary scientists, thought
+that he was able to show that the curve of frequency of typhoid fever
+in the different seasons of the year depended upon the closeness with
+which the ground-water came to the surface. Authorities in hygiene
+generally do not now accept this supposed law, for other factors have
+been found which are so much more important that, if the ground-water
+has any influence, it can be neglected. Mendel's observations in the
+matter {204} were, however, in line with the scientific ideas of the
+time and undoubtedly must be considered of value.
+
+The other subject in which Mendel interested himself was meteorology.
+He published in the journal of the Brünn Society of Naturalists a
+series of statistical observations with regard to the weather. Besides
+this he organized in connexion with the Realschule in Brünn a series
+of observation stations in different parts of the country around; and
+at the time when most scientists considered meteorological problems to
+be too complex for hopeful solution, Mendel seems to have realized
+that the questions involved depended rather on the collation of a
+sufficient number of observations and the deduction of definite laws
+from them than on any theoretic principles of a supposed science of
+the weather.
+
+The man evidently had a genius for scientific observations. His
+personal character was of the highest. The fact that his fellow-monks
+selected him as abbot of the monastery shows the consideration in
+which he was held for tact and true religious feeling. There are many
+still alive in Brünn who remember him well and cannot say enough of
+his kindly disposition, the _fröliche Liebenswürdigkeit_ (which means
+even more than our personal magnetism), that won for him respect and
+reverence from all. He is remembered, not only for his successful
+discoveries, and not alone by his friends and the fellow-members of
+the Naturalist Society, but by practically all his {205}
+contemporaries in the town; and it is his lovable personal character
+that seems to have most impressed itself on them.
+
+He was for a time the president of the Brünn Society of Naturalists,
+while also abbot of the monastery. This is, perhaps, a combination
+that would strike English-speaking people as rather curious, but seems
+to have been considered not out of the regular course of events in
+Austria.
+
+Father Mendel's introduction to his paper on plant hybridization,
+which describes the result of the experiments made by him in deducing
+the law which he announces, is a model of simple straightforwardness.
+It breathes the spirit of the loftiest science in its clear-eyed
+vision of the nature of the problem he had to solve, the factors which
+make up the problem, and the experimental observations necessary to
+elucidate it. We reproduce the introductory remarks here from the
+translations made of them by the Royal Horticultural Society of
+England. [Footnote 16] Father Mendel said at the beginning of his
+paper as read 8 February, 1865:--
+
+    [Footnote 16: The original paper was published in the
+    "Verhandlungen des Naturforscher-Vereins," in Brünn, Abhandlungen,
+    iv, that is, the proceedings of the year 1865, which were
+    published in 1866. Copies of these transactions were exchanged
+    with all the important scientific journals, especially those in
+    connexion with important societies and universities throughout
+    Europe, and the wonder is that this paper attracted so little
+    attention.]
+
+  Experience of artificial fertilization such as is affected with
+  ornamental plants in order to obtain new variations in color, has
+  led to the experiments, the {206} details of which I am about to
+  discuss. The striking regularity with which the same hybrid forms
+  always reappeared whenever fertilization took place between the same
+  species, induced further experiments to be undertaken, the object of
+  which was to follow up the developments of the hybrid in a number of
+  successive generations of their progeny.
+
+  Those who survey the work that has been done in this department up
+  to the present time will arrive at the conviction that among all the
+  numerous experiments made not one has been carried out to such an
+  extent and in such a way as to make it possible to determine the
+  number of different forms under which the offspring of hybrids
+  appear, or to arrange these forms with certainty, according to their
+  separate generations, or to ascertain definitely their statistical
+  relations.
+
+These three primary necessities for the solution of the problem of
+heredity--namely, first, the number of different forms under which the
+offspring of hybrids appear; secondly, the arrangement of these forms,
+with definiteness and certainty, as regards their relations in the
+separate generation; and thirdly, the statistical results of the
+hybridization of the plants in successive generations, are the secret
+of the success of Mendel's work, as has been very well said by
+Bateson, in commenting on this paragraph in his work on Mendel's
+"Principles of Heredity." This was the first time that any one had
+ever realized exactly the nature of the problems presented in, their
+naked simplicity. "To see a problem well is more than half to solve
+it," and this proved to be the case with Mendel's straightforward
+vision of the nature of the experiments required for advance in our
+knowledge of heredity.
+
+{207}
+
+While Mendel was beginning his experiments almost absolutely under the
+guidance of his own scientific spirit, and undertaking his series of
+observations in the monastery garden without any reference to other
+work in this line, he knew very well what distinguished botanists were
+doing in this line and was by no means presumptuously following a
+study of the deepest of nature's problems without knowing what others
+had accomplished in the matter in recent years. In the second
+paragraph of his introduction he quotes the men whose work in this
+science was attracting attention, and says that to this object
+numerous careful observers, such a Kölreuter, Gärtner, Herbert, Lecoq,
+Wichura and others, had devoted a part of their lives with
+inexhaustible perseverance.
+
+To quote Mendel's own words:--
+
+  Gärtner, especially in his work, "Die Bastarderzeugung im
+  Pflanzenreiche," [Footnote 17] has recorded very valuable
+  observations; and quite recently Wichura published the results of
+  some profound observations on the hybrids of the willow. That so far
+  no generally applicable law governing the formation and development
+  of hybrids has been successfully formulated can hardly be wondered
+  at by anyone who is acquainted with the extent of the task and can
+  appreciate the difficulties with which experiments of this class
+  have to contend. A final decision can only be arrived at when we
+  shall have before us the results of the changed detailed experiments
+  made on plants belonging to the most diverse orders. It requires
+  some courage indeed to undertake a labor of such far-reaching
+  extent; it appears, however, to be the only right way by which we
+  can finally reach the solution of a question the importance of which
+  can not be overestimated in connexion with the history of the
+  evolution of organic forms.
+
+  The paper now presented records the results of such a detailed
+  experiment. This experiment was practically confined to a small
+  plant group, and is now after eight years' pursuit concluded in all
+  essentials. Whether the plan upon which the separate experiments
+  were conducted and carried out was the best suited to attain the
+  desired end is left to the friendly decision of the reader.
+
+    [Footnote 17: The Production of Hybrids in the Vegetable Kingdom.]
+
+{208}
+
+
+Mendel's discoveries with regard to peas and the influence of heredity
+on them, were founded on very simple, but very interesting,
+observations. He found that if peas of different colors were taken,
+that is to say, if, for instance, yellow-colored peas were crossed
+with green, the resulting pea seeds were, in the great majority of
+cases, of yellow color. If the yellow-colored peas obtained from such
+crossing were planted and allowed to be fertilized only by pollen from
+plants raised from similar seeds, the succeeding generation, however,
+did not give all yellow peas, but a definite number of yellow and a
+definite number of green. In other words, while there might have been
+expected a permanence of the yellow color, there was really a
+reversion in a number of the plants apparently to the type of the
+grandparent. Mendel tried the same experiment with seeds of different
+shape. Certain peas are rounded and certain others are wrinkled. When
+these were crossed, the next generation {209} consisted of wrinkled
+peas, but the next succeeding generation presented a definite number
+of round peas besides the wrinkled ones, and so on as before. He next
+bred peas with regard to other single qualities, such as the color of
+the seed coat, the inflation or constriction of the pod, as to the
+coloring of the pod, as to the distribution of the flowers along the
+stem, as to the length of the stem, finding always, no matter what the
+quality tested, the laws of heredity he had formulated always held
+true.
+
+What he thus discovered he formulated somewhat as follows: In the case
+of each of the crosses the hybrid character, that is, the quality of
+the resultant seed, resembles one of the parental forms so closely
+that the other escapes observation completely or cannot be detected
+with certainty. This quality thus impressed on the next generation,
+Mendel called the dominant quality. As, however, the reversion of a
+definite proportion of the peas in the third generation to that
+quality of the original parent which did not appear in the second
+generation was found to occur, thus showing that, though it cannot be
+detected, it is present, Mendel called it the recessive quality. He
+did not find transitional forms in any of his experiments, but
+constantly observed that when plants were bred with regard to two
+special qualities, one of those qualities became dominant in the
+resultant hybrid, and the other became recessive, that is, present
+though latent and ready to produce its effects upon a definite
+proportion of the succeeding generation.
+
+{210}
+
+Remembering, then, that Mendel means by hybrid the result of the
+crossing of two distinct species, his significant discovery has been
+stated thus: The hybrid, whatever its own character, produces ripe
+germ cells, which bear only the pure character of one parent or the
+other. Thus, when one parent has the character "A," in peas, for
+example, a green color, and the other the character "B," in peas once
+more a yellow color, the hybrid will have in cases of simple dominance
+the character "AB" or "BA," but with the second quality in either case
+not noticeable. Whatever the character of the hybrid may be, that is
+to say, to revert to the example of the peas, whether it be green or
+yellow, its germ cells when mature will bear either the character "A"
+(green), or the character "B" (yellow), but not both.
+
+As Professor Castle says: "This perfectly simple principle is known as
+the law of segregation, or the law of the purity of the germ cells. It
+bids fair to prove as fundamental to a right understanding of the
+facts of heredity as is the law of definite proportions in chemistry.
+From it follow many important consequences."
+
+To follow this acute observer's work still further by letting the
+crossbreds fertilize themselves, Mendel raised a third generation. In
+this generation were individuals which showed the dominant character
+and also individuals which presented the recessive character. Such an
+observation had of course been made in a good many instances before.
+
+{211}
+
+But Mendel noted--and this is the essence of the new discovery in his
+observations--that in this third generation the numerical proportion
+of dominants to recessives is in the average of a series of cases
+approximately constant--being, in fact, as three to one. With almost
+absolute regularity this proportion was maintained in every case of
+crossing of pairs of characters, quite opposed to one another, in his
+pea plants. In the first generation, raised from his crossbreds, or,
+as he calls them, hybrids, there were seventy-five per cent dominants
+and twenty-five per cent recessives.
+
+When these plants were again self-fertilized and the offspring of each
+plant separately sown, a new surprise awaited the observer. The
+progeny of the recessives remained pure recessive; and in any number
+of subsequent generations never produced the dominant type again, that
+is, never reverted to the original parent, whose qualities had failed
+to appear in the second generation. When the seeds obtained by
+self-fertilizing the plants with the dominant characteristics were
+sown, it was found by the test of progeny that the dominants were not
+all of like nature, but consisted of two classes--first, some which
+gave rise to pure dominants; and secondly, others which gave a mixed
+offspring, composed partly of recessives, partly of dominants. Once
+more, however, the ratio of heredity asserted itself and it was found
+that the average numerical proportions were constant--those with pure
+dominant {212} offspring being to those with mixed offspring as one to
+two. Hence, it was seen that the seventy-five per cent of dominants
+are not really of identical constitution, but consist of twenty-five
+per cent which are pure dominants and fifty per cent which are really
+crossbreds, though like most of the crossbreds raised by crossing the
+two original varieties, they exhibit the dominant character only.
+
+These fifty crossbreds have mixed offspring; these offspring again in
+their numerical proportion follow the same law, namely, three
+dominants to one recessive. The recessives are pure like those of the
+last generation, but the dominants can, by further self-fertilization
+and cultivation of the seeds produced, be again shown to be made up of
+pure dominant and crossbreds in the same proportion of one dominant to
+two crossbreds.
+
+The process of breaking up into the parent forms is thus continued in
+each successive generation, the same numerical laws being followed so
+far as observation has gone. As Mendel's observations have now been
+confirmed by workers in many parts of the world, investigating many
+different kinds of plants, it would seem that this law which he
+discovered has a basis in the nature of things and is to furnish the
+foundation for a new and scientific theory of heredity, while at the
+same time affording scope for the collection of observations of the
+most valuable character with a definite purpose and without any
+theoretic bias.
+
+{213}
+
+The task of the practical breeder who seeks to establish or fix a new
+variety produced by cross-breeding in a case involving two variable
+characters is simply the isolation and propagation of that one in each
+sixteen of the second generation offspring which will be pure as
+regards the desired combination of characters. Mendel's discovery, by
+putting the breeder in possession of this information enables him to
+attack this problem systematically with confidence in the outcome,
+whereas hitherto his work, important and fascinating as it is, has
+consisted largely of groping for a treasure in the dark. The greater
+the number of separately variable characters involved in a cross, the
+greater will be the number of new combinations obtainable; the greater
+too will be the number of individuals which it will be necessary to
+raise in order to secure all the possible combinations; and the
+greater again will be the difficulty of isolating the pure, that is,
+the stable forms in such as are similar to them in appearance, but
+still hybrid in one or more characters.
+
+The law of Mendel reduces to an exact science the art of breeding in
+the case most carefully studied by him, that of entire dominance. It
+gives to the breeder a new conception of "purity." No animal or plant
+is "pure," simply because it is descended from a long line of
+ancestors, possessing a desired combination of characters; but any
+animal or plant is pure if it produces _gametes_--that is, particles
+for conjugation of only one sort--even though its grandparents may
+among {214} themselves have possessed opposite characters. The
+existence of purity can be established with certainty only by suitable
+breeding tests, especially by crossing with recessives; but it may be
+safely assumed for any animal or plant, descended from parents which
+were like each other and had been shown by breeding tests to be pure.
+
+This naturally leads us to what some biologists have considered to be
+the most important part of his work--the theory which he elaborated to
+explain his results, the principle which he considers to be the basis
+of the laws he discovered. Mendel suggests as following logically from
+the results of his experiments and observations a certain theory of
+the constitution of germinal particles. He has put this important
+matter so clearly himself and with such little waste of words that it
+seems better to quote the translation of the passage as given by
+Professor Bateson, [Footnote 18] than to attempt to explain it in
+other words. Mendel says:--
+
+    [Footnote 18: Bateson: _Mendel's Principles of Heredity_.
+    Cambridge. The University Press. 1902.]
+
+  The results of the previously described experiments induced further
+  experiments, the results of which appear fitted to afford some
+  conclusions as regards the composition of the egg and pollen-cells
+  of hybrids. An important matter for consideration is afforded in
+  peas (_pisum_) by the circumstance that among the progeny of the
+  hybrids constant forms appear, and that this occurs, too, in all
+  combinations of the associated characters. So far as experience
+  goes, we find it in every {215} case confirmed that constant progeny
+  can only be formed when the egg-cells and the fertilizing pollen are
+  of like character, so that both are provided with the material for
+  creating quite similar individuals, as is the case with the normal
+  fertilization of pure species.
+
+  We must therefore regard it as essential that exactly similar
+  factors are at work also in the production of the constant forms in
+  the hybrid plants. Since the various constant forms are produced in
+  one plant, or even in one flower of a plant, the conclusion appears
+  logical that in the ovaries of the hybrids there are formed as many
+  sorts of egg-cells and in the anthers as many sorts of pollen-cells
+  as there are possible constant combination forms, and that these egg
+  and pollen-cells agree in their internal composition with those of
+  the separate forms.
+
+  In point of fact, it is possible to demonstrate theoretically that
+  this hypothesis would fully suffice to account for the development
+  of the hybrids in the separate generations, if we might at the same
+  time assume that the various kinds of egg and pollen-cells were
+  formed in the hybrids on the average in equal numbers.
+
+Bateson says in a note on this passage that this last and the
+preceding paragraph contain the essence of the Mendelian principles of
+heredity. Mendel himself, after stating this hypothesis, gives the
+details of a series of experiments by which he was able to decide that
+the theoretic considerations suggested were founded in the nature of
+plants and their germinal cells.
+
+It will, of course, be interesting to realize what the bearing of
+Mendel's discoveries is on the question of the stability of species as
+well as on the origin of species. Professor Morgan, in his {216}
+article on Darwinism in the "Light of Modern Criticism," already
+quoted, says the important fact (with regard to Mendel's Law) from the
+point of view of the theory of evolution is that "the new species have
+sprung fully armed from the old ones, like Minerva from the head of
+Jove." "From de Vries's results," he adds, "we understand better how
+it is that we do not see new forms arising, because they appear, as it
+were, fully equipped over night. Old species are not slowly changed
+into new ones, but a shaking up of the old organization takes place
+and the egg brings forth a new species. It is like the turning of the
+kaleidoscope, a slight shift and the new figure suddenly appears. It
+needs no great penetration to see that this point of view is entirely
+different from the conception of the formation of new species by
+accumulating individual variations, until they are carried so far that
+the new form may be called a new species."
+
+With regard to this question of the transformation of one species into
+another, Mendel himself, in the concluding paragraphs of his article
+on hybridization, seems to agree with the expressions of Morgan. He
+quotes Gärtner's opinion with apparent approval: "Gärtner, by the
+results of these transformation experiments was led to oppose the
+opinion of those naturalists who dispute the stability of plant
+species and believe in a continuous evolution of vegetation. He
+perceives in the complete transformation of one species into another
+an indubitable proof that {217} species are fixed within limits beyond
+which they cannot change." "Although this opinion," adds Mendel,
+"cannot be unconditionally accepted, we find, on the other hand, in
+Gärtner's experiments a noteworthy confirmation of that supposition
+regarding the variability of cultivated plants which has already been
+expressed." This expression of opinion is not very definite, and
+Bateson, in what Professor Wilson of Columbia calls his "recent
+admirable little book on Mendel's principles," adds the following note
+that may prove of service in elucidating Mendel's meaning, as few men
+have entered so fully into the understanding of Mendel's work as
+Bateson, who introduced him to the English-speaking scientific public,
+"The argument of this paragraph appears to be that though the general
+mutability of natural species might be doubtful, yet among cultivated
+plants the transference of characters may be accomplished and may
+occur by _integral steps_ [italics ours], until one species is
+definitely 'transformed' into the other."
+
+Needless to say, this is quite different from the gradual
+transformation of species that Darwinism or Lamarckism assumes to take
+place. One species becomes another _per saltum_ in virtue of some
+special energy infused into it, some original tendency of its
+intrinsic nature, not because of gradual modification by forces
+outside of the organisms, nor because of the combination of influences
+they are subjected to from without and within, because of tendency to
+evolute plus {218} environmental forces. This throws biology back to
+the permanency of species in themselves, though successive generations
+may be of different species, and does away with the idea of missing
+links, since there are no gradual connecting gradations.
+
+A very interesting phase of Mendel's discoveries is concerned with the
+relative value of the egg-cell and the pollen-cell, as regards their
+effect upon future generations. It is an old and oft-discussed problem
+as to which of these germinal particles is the more important in its
+influence upon the transmission of parental qualities. Mendel's
+observations would seem to decide definitely that, in plants and, by
+implication, in animals, since the germinal process is biogenetically
+similar, the value of both germinal particles is exactly equal.
+
+In a note, Mendel says:--
+
+  _In pisum_ (i. e. in peas), it is beyond doubt that, for the
+  formation of the new embryo, a perfect union of the elements of both
+  fertilizing cells must take place. How could we otherwise explain
+  that, among the offspring of the hybrids, both original types
+  reappear in equal numbers, and with all their peculiarities? If the
+  influence of the egg-cell upon the pollen-cell were only external,
+  if it fulfilled the role of a nurse only, then the result of each
+  artificial fertilization could be no other than that the developed
+  hybrid should exactly resemble the pollen parent, or, at any rate,
+  do so very closely. These experiments, so far, have in no wise been
+  confirmed. An evident proof of the complete union of the contents of
+  both cells is afforded by the {219} experience gained on all sides,
+  that it is immaterial as regards the form of the hybrid which of the
+  original species is the seed cell, or which the pollen parent!
+
+This is the first actual demonstration of the equivalent value of both
+germinal particles as regards their influence on transmission
+inheritance in future generations.
+
+It is only by simplifying the problem so that all disturbing factors
+could be eliminated that Mendel succeeded in making this
+demonstration. Too many qualities have hitherto been considered with
+consequent confusion as to the results obtained.
+
+It is of the genius of the man that he should have been able to
+succeed in seeing the problem in simple terms while it is apparently
+so complex, and thus obtain results that are as far-reaching as the
+problem they solve is basic in its character.
+
+Bateson, in his work Mendel's _Principles of Heredity_, says:--
+
+  It may seem surprising that a work of such importance should so long
+  have failed to find recognition and to become current in the world
+  of science. It is true that the Journal in which it appeared is
+  scarce, but this circumstance has seldom long delayed general
+  recognition. The cause is unquestionably to be found in that neglect
+  of the experimental study of the problem of species which supervened
+  on the general acceptance of the Darwinian doctrine. The problem of
+  species, as Kölreuter, Gärtner, Naudin, Wichura, and the hybridists
+  of the middle of the nineteenth century conceived it, attracted
+  thenceforth no workers.
+
+{220}
+
+  The question, it was imagined, had been answered and the debate
+  ended. No one felt much interest in the matter. A host of other
+  lines of work was suddenly opened up, and in 1865 the more original
+  investigators naturally found these new methods of research more
+  attractive than the tedious observations of hybridizers, whose
+  inquiries were supposed, moreover, to have led to no definite
+  results.
+
+  In 1868 appeared the first edition of Darwin's _Animals and Plants_,
+  marking the very zenith of these studies with regard to hybrids and
+  the questions in heredity which they illustrate, and thenceforth the
+  decline in the experimental investigation of evolution and the
+  problem of species have been studied. With the rediscovery and
+  confirmation of Mendel's work by de Vries, Correns and Tschermak in
+  1900 a new era begins. Had Mendel's work come into the hands of
+  Darwin it is not too much to say that the history of the development
+  of evolutionary philosophy would have been very different from that
+  which we have witnessed.
+
+  That Mendel's work, appearing as it did at a moment when several
+  naturalists of the first rank were still occupied with these
+  problems, should have passed wholly unnoted, will always remain
+  inexplicable, the more so as the Brünn society exchanged its
+  publication with most of the great academies of Europe, including
+  both the Royal and the Linnean societies of London.
+
+The whole history of Mendel's work, its long period without effect
+upon scientific thought, its thoroughly simple yet satisfactory
+character, its basis in manifold observations of problems simplified
+to the last degree, and its present complete acceptance illustrate
+very well the chief defect of the last two generations of workers in
+biology. {221} There has been entirely too much theorizing, too much
+effort at observations for the purpose of bolstering up preconceived
+ideas--preaccepted dogmas of science that have proved false in the
+end--and too little straightforward observation and simple reporting
+of the facts without trying to have them fit into any theory
+prematurely, that is until their true place was found. This will be
+the criterion by which the latter half of nineteenth century biology
+will be judged; and because of failure here much of our supposed
+progress will have no effect on the current of biological progress,
+but will represent only an eddy in which there was no end of bustling
+movement manifest but no real advance.
+
+As stated very clearly by Professor Morgan at the beginning of this
+paper, and Professor Bateson near the end, Darwin's doctrine of
+natural selection as the main factor in evolution and its practically
+universal premature acceptance by scientific workers in biology are
+undoubtedly responsible for this. The present generation may well be
+warned, then, not to surrender their judgment to taking theories, but
+to wait in patience for the facts in the case, working, not
+theorizing, while they wait.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Catholic Churchmen in Science, by James J. Walsh
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CATHOLIC CHURCHMEN IN SCIENCE ***
+
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+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
+<html>
+<head>
+<meta content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type">
+<title>
+Catholic Churchmen In Science;
+Sketches Of The Lives Of Catholic Ecclesiastics Who Were Among
+The Great Founders In Science; James J. Walsh
+</title>
+
+<style type="text/css">
+
+h1 {font-size: 160%;  text-align:center;}
+
+h2 {font-size: 120%;  text-align:center;}
+
+i  { font-weight: bold; }
+
+.indent   { margin-left: 5%; }
+
+.indent2  { margin-left: 10%;  }
+
+.center   { text-align: center; }
+
+.footnote { margin-left: 12%; }
+
+.cite     { margin-left: 7%; }
+
+/* <pre> styles */
+
+.poetry   { margin-left: 40px; font-family: Times; }
+
+.index    { font-family: Times; line-height: 1.5;}
+
+</style>
+
+</head>
+
+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's Catholic Churchmen in Science, by James J. Walsh
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Catholic Churchmen in Science
+
+Author: James J. Walsh
+
+Release Date: October 13, 2010 [EBook #34067]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CATHOLIC CHURCHMEN IN SCIENCE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Don Kostuch
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<p>
+[Transcriber's note]
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  This is derived from a copy on the Internet Archive:<br>
+    http://www.archive.org/details/catholicchurchme008742mbp
+<br><br>
+  Page numbers in this book are indicated by numbers enclosed in curly
+  braces, e.g. {99}. They have been located where page breaks occurred
+  in the original book.
+<br><br>
+  Obvious spelling errors have been corrected but "inventive" and
+  inconsistent spelling is left unchanged.
+<br><br>
+  Extended quotations and citations are indented.
+<br><br>
+  Footnotes have been renumbered to avoid ambiguity, and relocated
+  to the end of the enclosing paragraph.
+</p>
+<p>
+[End Transcriber's note]
+</p>
+<br><br>
+
+<h1>CATHOLIC CHURCHMEN IN SCIENCE</h1>
+
+<p align=center>
+[FIRST SERIES]
+<br><br><br>
+
+SKETCHES OF THE LIVES OF CATHOLIC ECCLESIASTICS
+WHO WERE AMONG THE GREAT FOUNDERS IN SCIENCE<br><br>
+
+By
+<br><br>
+JAMES J. WALSH, K.ST.G., M.D., PH.D., LITT.D.
+<br><br>
+<i>Dean and Professor of Medicine and of Nervous Diseases
+at Fordham University School of Medicine; Professor
+of Physiological Psychology in the Cathedral College, New York;
+Member of A.M.A., N.Y. State Med. Soc.,
+A.A.A.S., Life Mem of N.Y. Historical Society.</i>
+<br><br><br>
+
+
+SECOND EDITION
+<br><br><br>
+
+
+PHILADELPHIA
+<br>
+American Ecclesiastical Review
+<br>
+The Dolphin Press
+<br>
+MCMX.
+<br><br>
+
+
+COPYRIGHT. 1906, 1910
+<br>
+American Ecclesiastical Review
+<br>
+The Dolphin Press
+<br><br><br>
+
+
+"A sorrow's crown of sorrow."
+<br><br><br>
+
+
+THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED TO THE
+MEMORY OF MY MOTHER
+</p>
+<br><br>
+{vii}
+<br>
+
+<h2>PREFACE.</h2>
+<p>
+The following sketches of the lives of clergymen who were great
+scientists have appeared at various times during the past five years
+in Catholic magazines. They were written because the materials for
+them had gradually accumulated during the preparation of various
+courses of lectures, and it seemed advisable to put them in order in
+such a way that they might be helpful to others working along similar
+lines. They all range themselves naturally around the central idea
+that the submission of the human reason to Christian belief, and of
+the mind and heart to the authority of the Church, is quite compatible
+with original thinking of the highest order, and with that absolute
+freedom of investigation into physical science, which has only too
+often been said to be quite impossible to churchmen. For this reason
+friends have suggested that they should be published together in a
+form in which they would be more easy of consultation than when
+scattered in different periodicals. It was urged, too, that they would
+thus also be more effective for the cause which they uphold. This
+friendly suggestion has been yielded to, whether justifiably or not
+the reader must decide for himself. There is so great a flood of
+books, good, bad, and indifferent, ascribing their existence to the
+advice of well-meaning friends, that we poor authors are evidently not
+in a position to judge for ourselves of the merit of our works or of
+the possible interest they may arouse.
+</p>
+{viii}
+<p>
+I have to thank the editors of the <i>American Catholic Quarterly
+Review</i>, of the <i>Ave Maria</i>, and of <i>The Ecclesiastical Review</i> and
+<i>The Dolphin</i>, for their kind permission to republish the articles
+which appeared originally in their pages. All of them, though
+substantially remaining the same, have been revised, modified in a
+number of particulars, and added to very considerably in most cases.
+</p>
+<p>
+The call for a second edition--the third thousand--of this little
+book is gratifying. Its sale encouraged the preparation of a Second
+Series of CATHOLIC CHURCHMEN IN SCIENCE, and now the continued demand
+suggests a Third Series, which will be issued during the year. Some
+minor corrections have been made in this edition, but the book is
+substantially the same.
+</p>
+{ix}
+
+
+<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="2" width="100%">
+<col width="7%"><col width="83%"><col width="10%">
+<tr><td><br></td>
+    <td><br></td>
+    <td>PAGE</td></tr>
+<tr><td><br>
+</td><td>PREFACE </td><td> ix</td></tr>
+<tr><td>I. </td><td> THE SUPPOSED OPPOSITION OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION </td><td> <a href="#3">3</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>II. </td><td> COPERNICUS AND HIS TIMES </td><td> <a href="#15">15</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>III. </td><td> BASIL VALENTINE. FOUNDER OF MODERN CHEMISTRY </td><td> <a href="#45">45</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>IV. </td><td> LINACRE: SCHOLAR, PHYSICIAN, PRIEST </td><td> <a href="#79">79</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>V. </td><td> FATHER KIRCHER, S.J. SCIENTIST, ORIENTALIST, AND COLLECTOR </td><td> <a href="#111">111</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>VI. </td><td> BISHOP STENSEN: ANATOMIST AND FATHER OF GEOLOGY </td><td> <a href="#137">137</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>VII. </td><td>ABBÉ HAÜY: FATHER OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHY </td><td> <a href="#169">169</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td>VIII. </td><td>ABBOT MENDEL: A NEW OUTLOOK IN HEREDITY </td><td> <a href="#195">195</a></td></tr>
+</table>
+<br>
+{x}
+<br><br>
+<a name="1">{1}</a>
+<br>
+
+<h2>I.
+<br><br>
+THE SUPPOSED OPPOSITION OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION.</h2>
+<br>
+<a name="2">{2}</a>
+<br><br>
+<a name="3">{3}</a>
+<br><br>
+
+<h2>I.
+<br><br>
+THE SUPPOSED OPPOSITION OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION.</h2>
+<p>
+A common impression prevails that there is serious, if not invincible,
+opposition between science and religion. This persuasion has been
+minimized to a great degree in recent years, and yet sufficient of it
+remains to make a great many people think that, if there is not entire
+incompatibility between science and religion, there is at least such a
+diversity of purposes and aims in these two great realms of human
+thought that those who cultivate one field are not able to appreciate
+the labors of those who occupy themselves in the other. Indeed, it is
+usually accepted as a truth that to follow science with assiduity is
+practically sure to lead to unorthodoxy in religion. This is supposed
+to be especially true if the acquisition of scientific knowledge is
+pursued along lines that involve original research and new
+investigation. Somehow, it is thought that any one who has a mind free
+enough from the influence of prejudice and tradition to become an
+original thinker or investigator, is inevitably prone to abandon the
+old orthodox lines of thought in respect to religion.
+</p>
+<p>
+Like a good many other convictions and persuasions that exist more or
+less as <a name="4">{4}</a> commonplaces in the subconscious intellects of a great
+many people, this is not true. Our American humorist said that it is
+not so much the ignorance of mankind that makes him ridiculous as the
+knowing so many things "that ain't so." The supposed opposition
+between science and religion is precisely an apposite type of one of
+the things "that ain't so." It is so firmly fixed as a rule, however,
+that many people have accepted it without being quite conscious of the
+fact that it exists as one of the elements influencing many of their
+judgments--a very important factor in their apperception.
+</p>
+<p>
+Now, it so happens that a number of prominent original investigators
+in modern science were not only thoroughly orthodox in their religious
+beliefs, but were even faithful clergymen and guiding spirits for
+others in the path of Christianity. The names of those who are
+included in the present volume is the best proof of this. The series
+of sketches was written at various times, and yet there was a central
+thought guiding the selection of the various scientific workers. Most
+of them lived at about the time when, according to an unfortunate
+tradition that has been very generally accepted, the Church dominated
+human thinking so tyrannously as practically to preclude all notion of
+original investigation in any line of thought, but especially in
+matters relating to physical science. Most of the men whose lives are
+sketched lived during the fifteenth, sixteenth, and first half of the
+<a name="5">{5}</a> seventeenth centuries. All of them were Catholic clergymen of high
+standing, and none of them suffered anything like persecution for his
+opinions; all remained faithful adherents of the Church through long
+lives.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is hoped that this volume, without being in any sense
+controversial, may tend to throw light on many points that have been
+the subject of controversy; and by showing how absolutely free these
+great clergymen-scientists were to pursue their investigations in
+science, it may serve to demonstrate how utterly unfounded is the
+prejudice that would declare that the ecclesiastical authorities of
+these particular centuries were united in their opposition to
+scientific advance.
+</p>
+<p>
+There is no doubt that at times men have been the subject of
+persecution because of scientific opinions. In all of these cases,
+without exception, however--and this is particularly true of such men
+as Galileo, Giordano Bruno, and Michael Servetus--a little
+investigation of the personal character of the individuals involved in
+these persecutions will show the victims to have been of that
+especially irritating class of individuals who so constantly awaken
+opposition to whatever opinions they may hold by upholding them
+overstrenuously and inopportunely. They were the kind of men who could
+say nothing without, to some extent at least, arousing the resentment
+of those around them who still clung to older ideas. We all know this
+class of individual very well. <a name="6">{6}</a> In these gentler modern times we
+may even bewail the fact that there is no such expeditious method of
+disposing of him as in the olden time. This is not a defence of what
+was done in their regard, but is a word of explanation that shows how
+human were the motives at work and how unecclesiastical the
+procedures, even though church institutions, Protestant and Catholic
+alike, were used by the offended parties to rid them of obnoxious
+argumentators.
+</p>
+<p>
+In this matter it must not be forgotten that persecution has been the
+very common associate of noteworthy advances in science, quite apart
+from any question of the relations between science and religion. There
+has scarcely been a single important advance in the history of applied
+science especially, that has not brought down upon the devoted head of
+the discoverer, for a time at least, the ill-will of his own
+generation. Take the case of medicine, for instance. Vesalius was
+persecuted, but not by the ecclesiastical authorities. The bitter
+opposition to him and to his work came from his colleagues in
+medicine, who thought that he was departing from the teaching of
+Galen, and considered that a cardinal medical heresy not to be
+forgiven. Harvey, the famous discoverer of the circulation of the
+blood, lost much of his lucrative medical practice after the
+publication of his discovery, because his medical contemporaries
+thought the notion of the heart pumping blood through the arteries to
+be so foolish that they refused to <a name="7">{7}</a> admit that it could come from a
+man of common sense, much less from a scientific physician. Nor need
+it be thought that this spirit of opposition to novelty existed only
+in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Almost in our own time
+Semmelweis, who first taught the necessity for extreme cleanliness in
+obstetrical work, met with so much opposition in the introduction of
+the precautions he considered necessary that he was finally driven
+insane. His methods reduced the mortality in the great lying-in
+hospitals of Europe from nearly ten per cent for such cases down to
+less than one per cent, thus saving many thousands of lives every
+year.
+</p>
+<p>
+Despite this very natural tendency to decry the value of new
+discoveries in science and the opposition they aroused, it will be
+found that the lives of these clergymen scientists show us that they
+met with much more sympathy in their work than was usually accorded to
+original investigators in science in other paths in life. This is so
+different from the ordinary impression in the matter that it seems
+worth while calling it to particular attention. While we have selected
+lives of certain of the great leaders in science, we would not wish it
+to be understood that these are the only ones among the clergymen of
+the last four centuries who deserve an honorable place high up in the
+roll of successful scientific investigators. Only those are taken who
+illustrate activity in sciences that are supposed to have been
+especially forbidden to clergymen. It <a name="8">{8}</a> has been said over and over
+again, for instance, that there was distinct ecclesiastical opposition
+to the study of chemistry. Indeed, many writers have not hesitated to
+say that there was a bull, or at least a decree, issued by one or more
+of the popes forbidding the study of chemistry. This, is not only not
+true, but the very pope who is said to have issued the decree, John
+XXII, was himself an ardent student of the medical sciences. We still
+possess several books from him on these subjects, and his decree was
+meant only to suppress pseudo-science, which, as always, was
+exploiting the people for its own ends. The fact that a century later
+the foundation of modern chemical pharmacology was laid by a
+Benedictine monk, Basil Valentine, shows how unfounded is the idea
+that the papal decree actually hampered in any way the development of
+chemical investigation or the advance of chemical science.
+</p>
+<p>
+Owing to the Galileo controversy, astronomy is ordinarily supposed to
+have been another of the sciences to which it was extremely indiscreet
+at least, not to say dangerous, for a clergyman to devote himself. The
+great founder of modern astronomy, however, Copernicus, was not only a
+clergyman, but one indeed so faithful and ardent that it is said to
+have been owing to his efforts that the diocese in which he lived did
+not go over to Lutheranism during his lifetime, as did most of the
+other dioceses in that part of Germany. The fact that Copernicus's
+book was involved in the Galileo trial has rendered his <a name="9">{9}</a> position
+still further misunderstood, but the matter is fully cleared up in the
+subsequent sketch of his life. As a matter of fact, it is in astronomy
+particularly that clergymen have always been in the forefront of
+advance; and it must not be forgotten that it was the Catholic Church
+that secured the scientific data necessary for the correction of the
+Julian Calendar, and that it was a pope who proclaimed the
+advisability of the correction to the world. Down to our own day there
+have always been very prominent clergymen astronomers. One of the best
+known names in the history of the astronomy of the nineteenth century
+is that of Father Piazzi, to whom we owe the discovery of the first of
+the asteroids. Other well-known names, such as Father Secchi, who was
+the head of the papal observatory at Rome, and Father Perry, the
+English Jesuit, might well be mentioned. The papal observatory at Rome
+has for centuries been doing some of the best work in astronomy
+accomplished anywhere, although it has always been limited in its
+means, has had inadequate resources to draw on, and has succeeded in
+accomplishing what it has done only because of the generous devotion
+of those attached to it.
+</p>
+<p>
+To go back to the Galileo controversy for a moment, there seems no
+better answer to the assertion that his trial shows clearly the
+opposition between religion, or at least ecclesiastical authorities,
+and science, than to recall, as we have done, in writing the
+accompanying sketch of the <a name="10">{10}</a> life of Father Kircher, S.J., that
+just after the trial Roman ecclesiastics very generally were ready to
+encourage liberally a man who devoted himself to all forms of physical
+science, who was an original thinker in many of them, who was a great
+teacher, whose writings did more to disseminate knowledge of advances
+in science than those of any man of his time, and whose idea of the
+collection of scientific curiosities into a great museum at Rome
+(which still bears his name) was one of the fertile germinal
+suggestions in which modern science was to find seeds for future
+growth.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is often asserted that geology was one of the sciences that was
+distinctly opposed by churchmen; yet we shall see that the father of
+modern geology, one of the greatest anatomists of his time, was not
+only a convert to Catholicity, but became a clergyman about the time
+he was writing the little book that laid the foundation of modern
+geology. We shall see, too, that, far from religion and science
+clashing in him, he afterwards was made a bishop, in the hope that he
+should be able to go back to his native land and induce others to
+become members of that Church wherein he had found peace and
+happiness.
+</p>
+<p>
+In the modern times biology has been supposed to be the special
+subject of opposition, or at least fear, on the part of ecclesiastical
+authorities. It is for this reason that the life of Abbot Mendel has
+been introduced. While working in <a name="11">{11}</a> his monastery garden in the
+little town of Brünn in Moravia, this Augustinian monk discovered
+certain precious laws of heredity that are considered by progressive
+twentieth-century scientists to be the most important contributions to
+the difficult problems relating to inheritance in biology that have
+been made.
+</p>
+<p>
+These constitute the reasons for this little book on Catholic
+clergymen scientists. It is published, not with any ulterior motives,
+but simply to impress certain details of truth in the history of
+science that have been neglected in recent years and, by presenting
+sympathetic lives of great clergymen scientists, to show that not only
+is there no essential opposition between science and religion, but on
+the contrary that the quiet peace of the cloister and of a religious
+life have often contributed not a little to that precious placidity of
+mind which seems to be so necessary for the discovery of great, new
+scientific truths.
+</p>
+<br>
+<a name="12">{12}</a>
+<br>
+<h2>II.
+<br><br>
+COPERNICUS AND HIS TIMES.</h2>
+<br>
+
+<a name="13">{13}</a>
+<br>
+<p>
+All the vast and most progressive systems that human wisdom has
+brought forth as substitutes for religion, have never succeeded in
+interesting any but the learned, the ambitious, or at most the
+prosperous and happy. But the great majority of mankind can never come
+under these categories. The great majority of men are suffering, and
+suffering from moral as well as physical evils. Man's first bread is
+grief, and his first want is consolation. Now which of these systems
+has ever consoled an afflicted heart, or repeopled a lonely one? Which
+of these teachers has ever shown men how to wipe away a tear?
+Christianity alone has from the beginning promised to console man in
+the sorrows incidental to life by purifying the inclinations of his
+heart, and she alone has kept her promise.--MONTALEMBERT,
+Introduction to <i>Life of St. Elizabeth</i>.
+</p>
+<a name="14">{14}</a>
+<br>
+
+<p align=center>
+<img style="width: 367px; height: 427px;" alt=""
+     src="images/14p.jpg" border=1>
+<br>
+NICOLAO COPERNICO]
+</p>
+
+<br>
+<a name="15">{15}</a>
+<br>
+
+<h2>II.
+<br><br>
+COPERNICUS AND HIS TIMES.</h2>
+<p>
+The association of the name of Copernicus with that of Galileo has
+always cast an air of unorthodoxy about the great astronomer. The
+condemnation of certain propositions in his work on astronomy in which
+Copernicus first set forth the idea of the universe as we know it at
+present, in contradistinction to the old Ptolemaic system of
+astronomy, would seem to emphasize this suspicion of unorthodox
+thinking. He is rightly looked upon as one of the great pioneers of
+our modern physical science, and, as it is generally supposed that
+scientific tendencies lead away from religion, there are doubtless
+many who look upon Copernicus as naturally one of the leaders in this
+rationalistic movement. It is forgotten that scarcely any of the great
+original thinkers have escaped the stigma of having certain
+propositions in some of their books condemned, and that this indeed is
+only an index of the fallibility of the human mind and of the need
+there is for some authoritative teacher. The sentences in Copernicus's
+book requiring correction were but few, and were rather matters of
+terminology than of actual perversion of accepted teaching. It was as
+such that their modification was suggested. In spite of this, the <a name="16">{16}</a>
+impression remains that Copernicus must be considered as a
+rationalizing scientist, the first in a long roll of original
+scientific investigators whose work has made the edifice of
+Christianity totter by removing many of the foundation-stones of its
+traditional authority.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is rather surprising, in view of this common impression with regard
+to Copernicus, to find him, according to recent biographers, a
+faithful clergyman in honor with his ecclesiastical superiors, a
+distinguished physician whose chief patients were clerical friends of
+prominent position and the great noblemen of his day, who not only
+retained all his faith and reverence for the Church, but seems to have
+been especially religious, a devoted adherent of the Blessed Virgin
+Mother of God, and the author of a series of poems in her honor that
+constitute a distinct contribution to the literature of his time.
+</p>
+<p>
+All this should not be astonishing, however; for in the list of the
+churchmen of the half century just before the great religious revolt
+in Germany are to be found some of the best known names in the history
+of the intellectual development of the race. This statement is so
+contrary to the usual impression that obtains in regard to the
+character of that period as to be a distinct source of surprise to the
+ordinary reader of history who has the realization of its truth thrust
+upon him for the first time. Just before the so-called Reformation,
+the clergy are considered to have been so sunk in ignorance, or at
+least to <a name="17">{17}</a> have been so indifferent to intellectual pursuits and so
+cramped in mind as regards progress, or so timorous because of
+inquisition methods, that no great advances in thought, and especially
+none in science, could possibly be looked for from them. To find,
+then, that not only were faithful churchmen leaders in thought,
+discoverers in science, organizers in education, initiators of new
+progress, teachers of the New Learning, but that they were also
+typical representatives and yet prudent directors of the advancing
+spirit of that truly wonderful time, is apt to make us think that
+surely--as the Count de Maistre said one hundred years ago, and the
+Cambridge Modern History repeats at the beginning of the twentieth
+century when treating of this very period--"history has been a
+conspiracy against the truth."
+</p>
+<p>
+Not quite fifty years before Luther's movement of protest began--that
+is, in 1471--there passed away in a little town in the Rhineland a man
+who has been a greater spiritual force than perhaps any other single
+man that has ever existed. This was Thomas à Kempis, a product of the
+schools of the Brethren of the Common Life, a teaching order that
+during these fifty years before the Protestant Revolution had over ten
+thousand pupils in its schools in the Rhineland and the Netherlands
+alone. As among these pupils there occur such names as Erasmus,
+Nicholas of Cusa, Agricola, not to mention many less illustrious, some
+idea of this old teaching institution, that has been very aptly
+compared to our <a name="18">{18}</a> modern Brothers of the Christian Schools, can be
+realized.
+</p>
+<p>
+Kempis was a worthy initiator of a great half century. He had among
+his contemporaries, or followers in the next generation, such men as
+Grocyn, Dean Colet, and Linacre in England, Cardinal Ximenes in Spain,
+and Copernicus in Germany. Considering the usual impression in this
+matter as regards the lack of interest at Rome in serious study, it is
+curiously interesting to realize how closely these great scholars and
+thinkers were in touch with the famous popes of the Renaissance
+period. The second half of the sixteenth century saw the elevation to
+the papacy of some of the most learned and worthy men that have ever
+occupied the Chair of Peter. In 1447 Nicholas V became pope, and
+during his eight years of pontificate initiated a movement of sympathy
+with modern art and letters that was never to be extinguished. To him
+more than to any other may be attributed the foundation of the Vatican
+Library. To him also is attributed the famous expression that "no art
+can be too lofty for the service of the Church." He was succeeded by
+Calixtus III, a patron of learning, who was followed by Pius II, the
+famous AEneas Sylvius, one of the greatest scholars and most learned
+men of his day, who had done more for the spread of culture and of
+education in the various parts of Europe than perhaps any other alive
+at the time.
+</p>
+<p>
+The next Pope, Paul II, accomplished much <a name="19">{19}</a> during a period of
+great danger by arousing the Christian opposition to the Saracens. His
+encouragement and material aid to the Hungarians, who were making a
+bold stand against the Oriental invaders, merit for him a place in the
+rôle of defenders of civilization. To him is due the introduction of
+the recently discovered art of printing and its installation on a
+sumptuous scale worthy of the center of Christian culture. His
+successor, Sixtus IV, deserves the title of the founder of modern
+Rome. Bridges, aqueducts, public buildings, libraries, churches--all
+owe to his fostering care their restoration and renewed foundation. He
+made it the purpose of his life to attract distinguished humanistic
+scholars to his capital, and Rome became the metropolis of culture and
+learning as well as the mother city of Christendom.
+</p>
+<p>
+Under such popes it is no wonder that Rome and the cities of Italy
+generally became the homes of art and culture, centers of the new
+humanistic learning and the shelters of the scholars of the outer
+world. The Italian universities entered on a period of intellectual
+and educational development as glorious almost as the art movement
+that characterized the time. As this was marked by the work of such
+men as that universal genius Leonardo da Vinci, of Michael Angelo,
+poet, painter, sculptor, architect; of Raphael, Titian, and Correggio,
+whose contemporaries were worthy of them in every way, some idea can
+be attained of the wonderful era that developed. No <a name="20">{20}</a> wonder
+scholars in every department of learning flocked to Italy for
+inspiration and the enthusiasm bred of scholarly fellowship in such an
+environment. From England came men like Linacre, Selling, Grocyn, and
+Dean Colet; Erasmus came from the Netherlands, and Copernicus from
+Poland. Copernicus there obtained that scientific training which was
+later to prove so fruitful in his practical work as a physician and in
+his scientific work as the founder of modern astronomy.
+</p>
+<p>
+It may be as well to say at the beginning that even Copernicus was not
+the first to suggest that the earth moved, and not the sun; and that,
+curiously enough, his anticipator was another churchman, Nicholas of
+Cusa, the famous Bishop of Brixen. Readers of Janssen's <i>History of
+the German People</i> will remember that the distinguished historian
+introduces his monumental work by a short sketch of the career of
+Cusanus, as he is called, who may be well taken as the typical
+pre-Reformation scholar and clergyman. Cusa wrote in a
+manuscript--which is still preserved in the hospital of Cues, or
+Cusa--published for the first time by Professor Clemens in 1847: "I
+have long considered that this earth can not be fixed, but moves as do
+the other stars--<i>sed movetur ut aliae stellae</i>." What a curious
+commentary these words, written more than half a century before
+Galileo was born, form on the famous expression so often quoted
+because supposed to have been drawn from Galileo by the condemnation
+of his doctrine at Rome: <a name="21">{21}</a> <i>E pur se muove</i>--"and yet it moves!"
+Cusanus was a Cardinal, the personal friend of three popes, and he
+seems to have had no hesitation in expressing his opinion in the
+matter. In the same manuscript the Cardinal adds: "And to my mind the
+earth revolves upon its axis once in a day and a night." Cusanus was,
+moreover, one of the most independent thinkers that the world has ever
+seen, yet he was intrusted by the pope about the middle of the
+fifteenth century with the reformation of abuses in the Church in
+Germany. The pope seems to have been glad to be able to secure a man
+of such straightforward ways for his reformatory designs.
+</p>
+<p>
+The ideas of Nicholas of Cusa with regard to knowledge and the liberty
+of judgment in things not matters of faith can be very well
+appreciated from some of his expressions. "To know and to think," he
+says in one passage, "to see the truth with the eye of the mind is
+always a joy. The older a man grows, the greater is the pleasure it
+affords him; and the more he devotes himself to the search after
+truth, the stronger grows his desire of possessing it. As love is the
+life of the heart, so is the endeavor after knowledge and truth the
+life of the mind. In the midst of the movements of time, of the daily
+work of life, of its perplexities and contradictions, we should lift
+our gaze fearlessly to the clear vault of heaven and seek ever to
+obtain a firmer grasp of, and keener insight into, the origin of all
+goodness and duty, the capacities of our own hearts and minds, <a name="22">{22}</a>
+the intellectual fruits of mankind throughout the centuries, and the
+wondrous works of nature around us; but ever remembering that in
+humility alone lies true greatness, and that knowledge and wisdom are
+alone profitable in so far as our lives are governed by them."
+[Footnote 1] It is no wonder, then, that the time was ripe for
+Copernicus and his great work in astronomy, nor that that work should
+be accomplished while he was a canon of a cathedral and for a time the
+vicar-general of a diocese.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is now nearly five years since Father Adolph Muller, S.J.,
+professor of Astronomy in the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome,
+and director of a private observatory on the Janiculum in that city,
+wrote his historical scientific study [Footnote 2] of the great
+founder of modern astronomy. The book has been reviewed, criticized
+and discussed very thoroughly since then, and has been translated into
+several languages. The latest translation was into Italian, the work
+of Father Pietro Mezzetti, S.J., [Footnote 3] and was published in
+Rome at the end of 1902--having had the benefit <a name="23">{23}</a> of the author's
+revision. The historical details, then, of Copernicus's life may be
+considered to have been cast into definite shape, and his career may
+be appreciated with confidence as to the absolute accuracy and
+essential significance of all its features.
+</p>
+
+<p class="footnote">
+  [Footnote 1: <i>History of the German People at the Close of the
+  Middle Ages</i>. By Johannes Janssen  Translated from the German by M A
+  Mitchell and A M Christie. Vol I, p. 3.]
+<br><br>
+  [Footnote 2: <i>Nikolaus Kopernicus, Der Altmeister der neueren
+  Astronomie, Ein Lebens und Kultur Bild</i>. Von Adolf Muller, S.J.]
+<br><br>
+  [Footnote 3: Professor of Astronomy and Physics at the Pontifical
+  Leonine College of Anagni]
+</p>
+
+<p>
+Nicholas Copernicus--to give him the Latin and more usual form of his
+name--was the youngest of four children of Niclas Copernigk, who
+removed from Cracow in Poland to Thorn in East Prussia (though then a
+city of Poland), where he married Barbara Watzelrode, a daughter of
+one of the oldest and wealthiest families of the province. His
+mother's brother, after having been a canon for many years in the
+cathedral of Frauenburg, was elected Bishop of the Province of
+Ermland. The future astronomer was born in 1473, at a time when Thorn,
+after having been for over two hundred years under the rule of the
+Teutonic Knights, had for some seven years been under the dominion of
+the King of Poland. There were two boys and two girls in the family;
+and their fervent Catholicity can be judged from the fact that all of
+them, parents and children, were inscribed among the members of the
+Third Order of St. Dominic. Barbara, the older sister, became a
+religious in the Cistercian Convent of Kulm, of which her aunt
+Catherine was abbess, and of which later on she herself became abbess.
+Andrew, the oldest son, became a priest; and Nicholas, the subject of
+this sketch, at least assumed, as we shall see, all the <a name="24">{24}</a>
+obligations of the ecclesiastical life, though it is not certain that
+he received the major religious orders.
+</p>
+<p>
+Copernicus's collegiate education was obtained at the University of
+Cracow, at that time one of the most important seats of learning in
+Europe. The five-hundredth anniversary of the founding of this
+University was celebrated with great pomp only a few years ago. Its
+origin, however, dates back to the times of Casimir the Great, at the
+end of the thirteenth or the beginning of the fourteenth century. Its
+foundation was due to the same spirit of enthusiastic devotion to
+letters that gave us all the other great universities of the
+thirteenth century. The original institution was so much improved by
+Jagello, King of Poland, at the beginning of the fifteenth century,
+that it bears his name and is known as the Jagellonian University. It
+was very natural for Copernicus to go back to his father's native city
+for his education; but his ambitious spirit was not content with the
+opportunities afforded there. He does not seem to have taken his
+academic degrees, and the tradition that he received his doctorate in
+medicine at the University of Cracow cannot be substantiated by any
+documentary evidence.
+</p>
+<p>
+At Cracow, Copernicus devoted himself mainly to classical studies,
+though his interest in astronomy seems to have been awakened there. In
+fact, it is said that his desire to be able to read Ptolemy's
+astronomy in the original Greek, and <a name="25">{25}</a> to obtain a good copy of it,
+led him to look to Italy for his further education. During his years
+at Cracow, however, he seems to have made numerous observations in
+astronomy, as most of the astronomical data in his books are found
+reduced to the meridian of Cracow. The observatory of Frauenburg, at
+which his work in astronomy in later life was carried on, was on the
+same meridian; so that it is difficult to say, as have some of his
+biographers, that, since Cracow was the capital of his native country,
+motives of patriotism influenced him to continue his observations
+according to this same meridian. Copernicus was anxious, no doubt, to
+come in contact with some of the great astronomers at the universities
+of Italy, whom he knew by reputation and whose work was attracting
+attention all over Europe at that time.
+</p>
+<p>
+How faithfully Copernicus applied himself to his classical studies can
+be best appreciated from some Latin poems written by him during his
+student days. These poems are an index, too, of the personal character
+of the man, and give some interesting hints of the religious side of
+his character. Altogether there are seven Latin odes, each ode
+composed of seven strophes. The seven odes are united by a certain
+community of interest or succession of subjects. All of them refer to
+the history of the Redeemer either in types or in reality. In the
+first one the prophets prefigure the appearance of the Saviour; in the
+second the patriarchs sigh for His coming; the <a name="26">{26}</a> third depicts the
+scene of the Nativity in the Cave of Bethlehem; the fourth is
+concerned with the Circumcision and the imposition of the Name chosen
+by the Holy Ghost; the fifth treats of the Star and the Magi and their
+guidance to the Manger; the sixth concerns the presentation in the
+Temple; and the seventh, the scene in which Jesus at the age of twelve
+disputes with the doctors in the Temple at Jerusalem.
+</p>
+<p>
+Copernicus's recent biographers have called attention particularly to
+the poetical beauties with which he surrounds every mention of the
+Blessed Virgin and her qualities. As is evident even from our brief
+resume of the subjects of the odes, the themes selected are just those
+in which the special devotion of the writer to the Mother of the
+Saviour could be very well brought out. There are, besides, a number
+of astronomical allusions which stamp the poems as the work of
+Copernicus, and which have been sufficient to defend their
+authenticity against the attacks made by certain critics, who tried to
+point out how different was the style from that of Copernicus's later
+years in his scientific writings. The tradition of authorship is,
+however, too well established on other grounds to be disturbed by
+criticism of this sort. The poems were dedicated to the Pope. In
+writing poetry Copernicus was only doing what Tycho Brahe and Kepler,
+his great successors in astronomy, did after him; and the argument
+with regard to the difference of style in the two kinds of writings
+would hold also as regards these authors.
+</p>
+<a name="27">{27}</a>
+<p>
+Copernicus's years as a boy and man--that is, up to the age of
+thirty-five--corresponded with a time of great intellectual activity
+in Europe. This fact is not as generally recognized as it should be,
+for intellectual activity is supposed to have awakened after the
+so-called Reformation. During the years from 1472 to 1506, however,
+there were founded in Germany alone no less than six universities:
+those of Ingolstadt, Treves, Tubingen, Mentz, Wittenberg, and
+Frankfort-on-the-Oder. These were not by any means the first great
+institutions of learning that arose in Germany. The universities of
+Prague and Vienna were more than a century old, and, with Heidelberg,
+Cologne, Erfurt, Leipsic, and Rostock, besides Greifswald and
+Freiburg, founded about the middle of the fifteenth century, had
+reached a high state of development, and contained larger numbers of
+students, with few exceptions, than these same institutions have ever
+had down to our own day. In most cases their charters were derived
+from the pope; and most of the universities were actually recognized
+as ecclesiastical institutions, in the sense that their officials held
+ecclesiastical authority.
+</p>
+<p>
+At this time--the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the
+sixteenth century--it was not unusual for students, in their
+enthusiasm for learning, to attempt to exhaust nearly the whole round
+of university studies. Medicine seems to have been a favorite subject
+with scholars who were widely interested in knowledge for its own <a name="28">{28}</a>
+sake. Almost at the same time that Copernicus was studying in Italy,
+the distinguished English Greek scholar, Linacre, was also engaged in
+what would now be called post-graduate work at various Italian
+universities, and in the household of Lorenzo the Magnificent at
+Florence, with whose son--so much did Lorenzo think of him--he was
+allowed to study Greek. Linacre (as will be seen more at length in the
+sketch of his life in this volume), besides being the greatest Greek
+scholar of his time, the friend later of More and Colet and Erasmus in
+London, was also the greatest physician in England.
+</p>
+<p>
+To those familiar with the times, it may be a source of surprise to
+think of Copernicus, interested as we know him to have been in
+literature and devoted so cordially to astronomy, yet taking up
+medicine as a profession. He seems, however, to have been led to do so
+by his distinguished teacher, Novara, who realized the talent of his
+Polish pupil for mathematics and astronomy and yet felt that he should
+have some profession in life. A century ago Coleridge, the English
+writer, said that a literary man should have some other occupation.
+Oliver Wendell Holmes improved upon this by adding: "And, as far as
+possible, he should confine himself to the other occupation." Novara
+seems to have realized that Copernicus might be under the necessity of
+knowing how to do something else besides making astronomical
+observations, in order to gain his living; and as medicine was <a name="29">{29}</a>
+satisfyingly scientific, the old teacher suggested his taking it up as
+a profession. Copernicus made his medical studies in Ferrara and
+Padua, and obtained his doctorate with honors from Ferrara.
+</p>
+<p>
+Copernicus seems to have taken up the practice of his profession
+seriously, and to have persevered in it to the end of his life. His
+biographers say that in the exercise of his professional duties he was
+animated by the spirit of a person who had devoted himself to the
+ecclesiastical life. While he did not publicly practise his
+profession, he was ever ready to assist the poor; and he also acquired
+great reputation in the surrounding country for his medical attendance
+upon clerics of all ranks. This continued to be the case,
+notwithstanding the fact that after the death of his uncle his mother
+inherited considerable wealth, and the family circumstances changed so
+much that he might well have given up any labors that were meant only
+to add to his income. In a word, he seems to have had a sincere
+interest in his professional work, and to have continued its exercise
+because of the opportunities it afforded for the satisfaction of a
+mind devoted to scientific research.
+</p>
+<p>
+Copernicus acquired considerable reputation by his medical services.
+His friend Giese speaks of him as a very skilful physician, and even
+calls him a second AEsculapius. Maurice Ferber, who became Bishop of
+Ermland in 1523, suffered from a severe chronic illness that began
+about 1529. He obtained permission from the canons <a name="30">{30}</a> of the
+cathedral to have Doctor Copernicus, whose ability and zeal he never
+ceased to praise, to come from the cathedral town where he ordinarily
+resided to Heilsburg, in order to have him near him. Bishop Ferber's
+successor, Dantisco, also secured Copernicus's aid in a severe
+illness, and declared that his restoration to health was mainly due to
+the efforts of his learned physician. Giese was so confident of the
+Doctor's skill that when he became Bishop of Kulm and on one of his
+episcopal visitations fell ill at a considerable distance from
+Copernicus's place of residence, he insisted on having the astronomer
+doctor brought to take care of him.
+</p>
+<p>
+In 1541 Duke Albert of Prussia became very much worried over the
+illness of one of his most trusted counsellors. In his distress he had
+recourse to Copernicus, and his letter asking the Canon of the
+Cathedral of Frauenburg to come to attend the patient is still extant.
+He says that the cure of the illness is "very much at his heart"; and,
+as every other means has failed, he hopes Copernicus will do what he
+can for the assistance of his faithful and valued counsellor.
+Copernicus yielded to the request, and the counsellor began to improve
+shortly after his arrival. At the end of some weeks the Duke wrote
+again to the canons of the cathedral asking that the leave of absence
+granted to Copernicus should be extended in order to enable him to
+complete the cure which had been so happily begun. In this second
+letter the Duke talks of Copernicus as a <a name="31">{31}</a> most skilful and learned
+physician. At the end of the month there is a third letter from the
+Duke, in which he thanks all the canons of the cathedral for their
+goodness in having granted the desired permission, and he adds that he
+shall ever feel under obligations "for the assistance rendered by that
+very worthy and excellent physician, Nicholas Copernicus, a doctor who
+is deserving of all honor." Not long afterward, when Copernicus's book
+on astronomy was published, a copy of it was sent to the Duke, and he
+replied that he was deeply grateful for it, and that he should always
+preserve it as a souvenir of the most learned and gentlest of men.
+</p>
+<p>
+There are a number of notes on the art of medicine made by Copernicus
+in the books of the cathedral library at Frauenburg. They serve to
+show how faithful a student he was, and to a certain extent give an
+idea of the independent habit of mind which he brought to the
+investigation of medicine as well as to the study of astronomy.
+Unfortunately, these have not as yet found an editor; but it is to be
+hoped that we shall soon know more of the medical thinking of a man
+over whose mind tradition, in the unworthier sense of that word,
+exercised so little influence.
+</p>
+<p>
+In 1530 Copernicus wrote a short prelude to the longer work on
+astronomy which he was to publish later. The propositions contained in
+this work show how far he had advanced on the road to his ultimate
+discovery. After a few words of introduction, the following seven
+axioms are laid down:--
+</p>
+<a name="32">{32}</a>
+<p>
+1. The celestial spheres and their orbits have not a single center.
+</p>
+<p>
+2. The center of the earth is not the center of the universe, but only
+the center of gravity and of the moon's orbit.
+</p>
+<p>
+3. The planes of the orbits lie around the sun, which may be
+considered as the center of the universe.
+</p>
+<p>
+4. The distance from the earth to the sun compared with that from the
+earth to the fixed stars is extremely small.
+</p>
+<p>
+5. The daily motion of the heavenly sphere is apparent that is, it is
+an effect of the rotary motion of the earth upon it axis.
+</p>
+<p>
+6. The apparent motions of the moon and of the sun are so different
+because of the effect produced by the motion of the earth.
+</p>
+<p>
+7. The movements of the earth account for the apparent retrograde
+motion and other irregularities of the movements of the planets. It is
+enough to assume that the earth alone moves, in order to explain all
+the other movements observed in the heavens.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is no wonder that one of his bishop-friends, Frisio, writing to
+another bishop-friend, Dantisco, said: "If Copernicus succeeds in
+demonstrating the truth of his thesis--and we may well consider that
+he will from this prelude--he will give us a new heaven and a new
+earth." This shorter exposition of Copernicus's views was found in
+manuscript in the imperial library in Vienna only about a quarter of a
+century ago. <a name="33">{33}</a> It is mentioned by Tycho Brahe in one of his works
+on astronomy in which he reviews the various contemporary advances
+made in the knowledge of the heavens.
+</p>
+<p>
+The publication of Copernicus's great work, "De Revolutionibus Orbium
+Celestium," was delayed until he was advanced in years, because his
+astronomical opinions were constantly progressing; and, with the
+patience of true genius, he was not satisfied with anything less than
+the perfect expression of truth as he saw it. It has sometimes been
+said that it was delayed because Copernicus feared the storm of
+religious persecution which he foresaw it would surely arouse. How
+utterly without foundation is this pretence, which has unfortunately
+crept into serious history, can be seen from the fact that Pope Paul
+III accepted the dedication of the work; and of the twelve popes who
+immediately followed Paul not one even thought of proceeding against
+Copernicus's work. His teaching was never questioned by any of the
+Roman Congregations for nearly one hundred years after his death.
+Galileo's injudicious insistence in his presentation of Copernicus's
+doctrine, on the novelties of opinion that controverted
+long-established beliefs, was then responsible for the condemnation by
+the Congregation of the Index; and, as we shall see, this was not
+absolute, but only required that certain passages should be corrected.
+The corrections demanded were unimportant as regards the actual
+science, and <a name="34">{34}</a> merely insisted that Copernicus's teaching was
+hypothesis and not yet actual demonstration.
+</p>
+<p>
+It must not be forgotten, after all, that the reasons advanced by
+Copernicus for his idea of the movements of the planets were not
+supported by any absolute demonstration, but only by reasons from
+analogy. Nearly a hundred years later than his time, even after the
+first discoveries had been made by the newly constructed telescopes,
+in Galileo's day, there was no absolute proof of the true system of
+the heavens. The famous Jesuit astronomer, Father Secchi, says the
+reasons adduced by Galileo were no real proofs: they were only certain
+analogies, and by no means excluded the possibility of the contrary
+propositions with regard to the movements of the heavens being true.
+"None of the real proofs for the earth's rotation upon its axis were
+known at the time of Galileo, nor were there direct conclusive
+arguments for the earth's moving around the sun." Even Galileo himself
+confessed that he had not any strict demonstration of his views, such
+as Cardinal Bellarmine requested. He wrote to the Cardinal, "The
+system seems to be true;" and he gave as a reason that it corresponded
+to the phenomena.
+</p>
+<p>
+According to the astronomers of the time, however, the old Ptolemaic
+system, in the shape in which it was explained by the Danish
+astronomer Tycho Brahe, who was acknowledged as the greatest of
+European astronomers, appeared to give quite a satisfactory
+explanation of the <a name="35">{35}</a> phenomena observed. The English philosopher,
+Lord Bacon, more than a decade after Galileo's announcement,
+considered that there were certain phenomena in nature contrary to the
+Copernican theory, and so he rejected it altogether. This was within a
+few years of the condemnation by the Congregation at Rome. As pointed
+out by Father Heinzle, S.J., in his article on Galileo in the
+"Catholic World" for 1887, "science was so far from determining the
+question of the truth or falsity of either the Ptolemaic or the
+Copernican system that shortly before 1633, the year of Galileo's
+condemnation, a number of savants, such as Fromond in Louvain, Morin
+in Paris, Berigard in Pisa, Bartolinus in Copenhagen, and Scheiner in
+Rome, wrote against Copernicanism."
+</p>
+<p>
+As we have said, Copernicus's book was not condemned unconditionally
+by the Roman authorities, but only until it should be corrected. This
+assured protection to the principal part of the work, and the warning
+issued by the Roman Congregation in the year 1820 particularizes the
+details that had to be corrected. It is interesting to note that
+whenever Copernicus is spoken of in this Monitum it is always in
+flattering terms as a "noble astrologer"--the word astrologer having
+at that time no unworthy meaning. The whole work is praised and its
+scientific quality acknowledged.
+</p>
+<p>
+The passages requiring correction were not many. In the first book, at
+the beginning of the <a name="36">{36}</a> fifth chapter, Copernicus made the
+declaration that "the immobility of the earth was not a decided
+question, but was still open to discussion." In place of these words
+it was suggested that the following should be inserted: "In order to
+explain the apparent motions of the celestial bodies, it is a matter
+of indifference whether we admit that the earth occupies a place in
+the middle of the heavens or not."
+</p>
+<p>
+In the eighth chapter of the first book, Copernicus said: "Why, then,
+this repugnance to concede to our globe its own movement as natural to
+it as is its spherical form? Why prefer to make the whole heavens
+revolve around it, with the great danger of disturbance that would
+result, instead of explaining all these apparent movements of the
+heavenly bodies by the real rotation of the earth, according to the
+words of AEneas, 'We are carried from the port, and the land and the
+cities recede'?" This passage was to be modified as follows: "Why not,
+then, admit a certain mobility of the earth corresponding to its form,
+since the whole universe of which we know the bounds is moved,
+producing appearances which recall to the mind the well-known saying
+of AEneas in Virgil, 'The land and the cities recede'?"
+</p>
+<p>
+Toward the end of the same chapter Copernicus, continuing the same
+train of thought, says: "I do not fear to add that it is incomparably
+more unreasonable to make the immense vault of the heavens revolve
+than to admit the <a name="37">{37}</a> revolution of our little terrestrial globe."
+This passage was to be modified as follows: "In one case as well as in
+the other--that is, whether we admit the rotation of the earth or that
+of the heavenly spheres--we encounter the same difficulties."
+</p>
+<p>
+The ninth chapter of the first book begins with these words: "There
+being no difficulty in admitting, then, the mobility of the earth, let
+us proceed to see whether it has one or a number of movements, and
+whether, therefore, our earth is a simple planet like the other
+planets." The following words were to be substituted: "Supposing,
+then, that the earth does move, it is necessary to examine whether
+this movement is multiple or not."
+</p>
+<p>
+Toward the middle of the tenth chapter Copernicus declares: "I do not
+hesitate to defend the proposition that the earth, accompanied by the
+moon, moves around the sun;" while the wording of this proposition had
+to be changed so as to substitute the term "admit" for "defend." The
+title of the eleventh chapter, "Demonstration of the Triple Movement
+of the Earth," was modified to read as follows: "The Hypothesis of the
+Triple Movement of the Earth, and the Reasons Therefor." The title of
+the twentieth chapter of the fourth book originally read: "On the Size
+of the Three Stars [<i>Sidera</i>], the sun, the moon, and the earth." The
+word "stars" was removed from this title, the earth not being
+considered as a star. The concluding words of <a name="38">{38}</a> the tenth chapter
+of the first book, "So great is the magnificent work of the Omnipotent
+Artificer," had to be cancelled, because they expressed an assurance
+of the truth of his system not warranted by knowledge. With these few
+unimportant changes, any one might read and study Copernicus's work
+with perfect freedom.
+</p>
+<p>
+Traditions to the contrary notwithstanding, Galileo, because of the
+friendship and encouragement of the churchmen in Italy, had been
+placed in conditions eminently suited for study and investigation.
+Several popes and a number of prominent ecclesiastics were his
+constant friends and patrons. The perpetual secretary of the Paris
+Academy of Sciences, M. Bertrand, himself a great mathematician and
+historian, declares that the long life of Galileo was one of the most
+enviable that is recorded in the history of science. "The tale of his
+misfortunes has confirmed the triumph of the truth for which he
+suffered. Let us tell the whole truth. This great lesson was learned
+without any profound sorrow to Galileo; and his long life, considered
+as a whole, was one of the most serene and enviable in the history of
+science."
+</p>
+<p>
+Copernicus, like Galileo, had clerical friends to thank for an
+environment that proved the greatest possible aid to his scientific
+work. His position as Canon of the Cathedral of Frauenburg provided
+him with learned leisure, while his clerical friends took just enough
+interest in his investigations and the preliminary <a name="39">{39}</a> announcements
+of his discoveries to make his pursuit of astronomical studies to some
+definite conclusion a worthy aim in life. It was this assistance that
+enabled him to publish his book eventually and bring his great theory
+before the world.
+</p>
+<p>
+Copernicus, far from having any leanings toward the so-called "reform"
+movement (as has often been asserted), was evidently a staunch
+supporter of his friend and patron Bishop Maurice Ferber, of Ermland,
+who kept his see loyal to Rome at a time when the secularization of
+the Teutonic order and the falling away of many bishops all around him
+make his position as a faithful son of the Church and that of his
+diocese noteworthy in the history of that time and place. It may well
+be said that under less favorable conditions Copernicus's work might
+never have been finished. As it was, his book met with great
+opposition from the Reformers, but remained absolutely acceptable even
+to the most rigorous churchmen until Galileo's unfortunate insistence
+on the points of it that were opposed to generally accepted theories.
+</p>
+<p>
+During all his long life Copernicus remained one of the simplest of
+men. Genius as he was, he could not have failed to realize how great
+was the significance of the discoveries he had made in astronomy. In
+spite of this he continued to exercise during a long career the simple
+duties of his post as Canon of the Cathedral of Frauenberg, nor did he
+fail to give such time as was asked of him for the medical treatment
+of the <a name="40">{40}</a> poor or of his friends, the ecclesiastics of the
+neighborhood. These duties--as he seems to have considered them--must
+have taken many precious hours from his studies, but they were given
+unstintingly. When he came to die, his humility was even more
+prominent than during life. It was at his own request that there was
+graven upon his tombstone simply the prayer, "I ask not the grace
+accorded to Paul, not that given to Peter: give me only the favor Thou
+didst show to the thief on the cross." There is perhaps no better
+example in all the world of the simplicity of true genius nor any
+better example of how sublimely religious may be the soul that has far
+transcended the bounds of the scientific knowledge of its own day.
+</p>
+<p>
+The greatness of Copernicus's life-work can best be realized from the
+extent to which he surpassed even well-known contemporaries in
+astronomy and from his practical anticipation of the opinions of some
+of his greatest successors. Even Tycho Brahe, important though he is
+in the history of astronomical science, taught many years after
+Copernicus's death the doctrine that the earth is the center of the
+universe. Newton had in Copernicus a precursor who divined the theory
+of universal gravitation; and even Kepler's great laws, especially the
+elliptical form of the orbits of the planets, are at least hinted at
+in Copernicus's writings. He is certainly one of the most original
+geniuses of all times; and it is interesting to find that the
+completeness of his <a name="41">{41}</a> scholarly career, far from being rendered
+abortive by friction with ecclesiastical superiors, as we might
+imagine probable from the traditions that hang around his name, was
+rather made possible by the sympathy and encouragement of clerical
+friends and Church authorities. Copernicus, the scholar, astronomer,
+physician, and clergyman, is a type of the eve of the Reformation
+period, and his life is the best possible refutation of the slanders
+with regard to the unprogressiveness of the Church and churchmen of
+that epoch which have unfortunately been only too common in the
+histories of the time.
+</p>
+<a name="42">{42}</a>
+<br><br>
+<a name="43">{43}</a>
+<br>
+
+<h2>III.
+<br><br>
+BASIL VALENTINE, FOUNDER OF MODERN CHEMISTRY.</h2>
+<br>
+<a name="44">{44}</a>
+<br>
+<p>
+Let us, then, banish into the world of fiction that affirmation so
+long repeated by foolish credulity which made monasteries an asylum
+for indolence and incapacity, for misanthropy and pusillanimity, for
+feeble and melancholic temperaments, and for men who were no longer
+fit to serve society in the world. Monasteries were never intended to
+collect the invalids of the world. It was not the sick souls, but on
+the contrary the most vigorous and healthful the human race has ever
+produced, who presented themselves in crowds to fill
+them.--MONTALEMBERT, <i>Monks of the West</i>.
+</p>
+<a name="45">{45}</a>
+<br>
+
+<h2>III.
+<br><br>
+BASIL VALENTINE, FOUNDER OF MODERN CHEMISTRY.</h2>
+
+<p>
+The Protestant tradition which presumes a priori that no good can
+possibly have come out of the Nazareth of the times before the
+Reformation, and especially the immediately preceding century, has
+served to obscure to an unfortunate degree the history of several
+hundred years extremely important in every department of education.
+Strange as it may seem to those unfamiliar with the period, it is in
+that department which is supposed to be so typically modern
+the--physical sciences--that this neglect is most serious. Such a hold
+has this Protestant tradition on even educated minds that it is a
+source of great surprise to most people to be told that there were in
+many parts of Europe original observers in the physical sciences all
+during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries who were
+doing ground-breaking work of the highest value, work that was
+destined to mean much for the development of modern science.
+Speculations and experiments with regard to the philosopher's stone
+and the transmutation of metals are supposed to fill up all the
+interests of the alchemists of those days. As a matter of fact,
+however, men were making original observations of very <a name="46">{46}</a> profound
+significance, and these were considered so valuable by their
+contemporaries that, though printing had not yet been invented, even
+the immense labor involved in copying large folio volumes by hand did
+not suffice to deter them from multiplying the writings of these men
+and thus preserving them for future generations, until the
+printing-press came to perpetuate them.
+</p>
+<p>
+At the beginning of the twentieth century, with some of the supposed
+foundations of modern chemistry crumbling to pieces under the
+influences of the peculiarly active light thrown upon older chemical
+theories by the discovery of radium and the radio-active elements
+generally, there is a reawakening of interest in some of the old-time
+chemical observers whose work used to be laughed at as so unscientific
+and whose theory of the transmutation of elements into one another was
+considered so absurd. The idea that it would be impossible under any
+circumstances to convert one element into another belongs entirely to
+the nineteenth century. Even so distinguished a mind as that of
+Newton, in the preceding century, could not bring itself to
+acknowledge the modern supposition of the absurdity of metallic
+transformation, but, on the contrary, believed very firmly in this as
+a basic chemical principle and confessed that it might be expected to
+occur at any time. He had seen specimens of gold ores in connexion
+with metallic copper, and had concluded that this was a manifestation
+of the natural transformation of one of these yellow metals into the
+other.
+</p>
+<a name="47">{47}</a>
+<p>
+With the discovery that radium transforms itself into helium, and that
+indeed all the so-called radio-activities of the very heavy metals are
+probably due to a natural transmutation process constantly at work,
+the ideas of the older chemists cease entirely to be a subject for
+amusement. The physical chemists of the present day are very ready to
+admit that the old teaching of the absolute independence of something
+over seventy elements is no longer tenable, except as a working
+hypothesis. The doctrine of matter and form taught for so many
+centuries by the scholastic philosophers which proclaimed that all
+matter is composed of two principles, an underlying material
+substratum and a dynamic or informing principle, has now more
+acknowledged verisimilitude, or lies at least closer to the generally
+accepted ideas of the most progressive scientists, than it has at any
+time for the last two or three centuries. Not only the great
+physicists, but also the great chemists, are speculating along lines
+that suggest the existence of but one form of matter, modified
+according to the energies that it possesses under a varying physical
+and chemical environment. This is, after all, only a restatement in
+modern terms of the teaching of St. Thomas of Aquin in the thirteenth
+century.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is not surprising, then, that there should be a reawakening of
+interest in the lives of some of the men who, dominated by the earlier
+scholastic ideas and by the tradition of the possibility of finding
+the philosopher's stone, which would <a name="48">{48}</a> transmute the baser metals
+into the precious metals, devoted themselves with quite as much zeal
+as any modern chemist to the observation of chemical phenomena. One of
+the most interesting of these--indeed he might well be said to be the
+greatest of the alchemists--is the man whose only name that we know is
+that which appears on a series of manuscripts written in the High
+German dialect of the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the
+sixteenth century. That name is Basil Valentine, and the writer,
+according to the best historical traditions, was a Benedictine monk.
+The name Basil Valentine may only have been a pseudonym, for it has
+been impossible to trace it among the records of the monasteries of
+the time. That the writer was a monk there seems to be no doubt, for
+his writings in manuscript and printed form began to have their vogue
+at a time when there was little likelihood of their being attributed
+to a monk unless an indubitable tradition connected them with some
+monastery.
+</p>
+<p>
+This Basil Valentine (to accept the only name we have), as we can
+judge very well from his writings, eminently deserves the designation
+of the last of the alchemists and the first of the chemists. There is
+practically a universal recognition of the fact now that he deserves
+also the title of Founder of Modern Chemistry, not only because of the
+value of the observations contained in his writings, but also because
+of the fact that they proved so suggestive to certain <a name="49">{49}</a> scientific
+geniuses during the century succeeding Valentine's life. Almost more
+than to have added to the precious heritage of knowledge for mankind
+is it a boon for a scientific observer to have awakened the spirit of
+observation in others and to be the founder of a new school of
+thought. This Basil Valentine undoubtedly did.
+</p>
+<p>
+Besides, his work furnishes evidence that the investigating spirit was
+abroad just when it is usually supposed not to have been, for the
+Thuringian monk surely did not do all his investigating alone, but
+must have received as well as given many a suggestion to his
+contemporaries.
+</p>
+<p>
+In the history of education there are two commonplaces that are
+appealed to oftener than any other as the sources of material with
+regard to the influence of the Catholic Church on education during the
+centuries preceding the Reformation. These are the supposed idleness
+of the monks, and the foolish belief in the transmutation of metals
+and the search for the philosopher's stone which dominated the minds
+of so many of the educated men of the time. It is in Germany
+especially that these two features of the pre-Reformation period are
+supposed to be best illustrated. In recent years, however, there has
+come quite a revolution in the feelings even of those outside of the
+Church with regard to the proper appreciation of the work of the
+monastic scholars of these earlier centuries. Even though some of them
+did dream golden dreams over their alembics, the love of knowledge
+meant <a name="50">{50}</a> more to them, as to the serious students of any age, than
+anything that might be made by it. As for their scientific beliefs, if
+there can be a conversion of one element into another, as seems true
+of radium, then the possibility of the transmutation of metals is not
+so absurd as, for a century or more, it has seemed; and it is not
+impossible that at some time even gold may be manufactured out of
+other metallic materials.
+</p>
+<p>
+Of course, a still worthier change of mind has come over the attitude
+of educators because of the growing sense of appreciation for the
+wonderful work of the monks of the Middle Ages, and even of those
+centuries that are supposed to show least of the influence of these
+groups of men who, forgetting material progress, devoted themselves to
+the preservation and the cultivation of the things of the spirit. The
+impression that would consider the pre-Reformation monks in Germany as
+unworthy of their high calling in the great mass is almost entirely
+without foundation. Obscure though the lives of most of them were,
+many of them rose above their environment in such a way as to make
+their work landmarks in the history of progress for all time.
+</p>
+<p>
+Because their discoveries are buried in the old Latin folios that are
+contained only in the best libraries, not often consulted by the
+modern scientist, it is usually thought that the scientific
+investigators of these centuries before the Reformation did no work
+that would be worth while considering in our present day. It is only
+some <a name="51">{51}</a> one who goes into this matter as a labor of love who will
+consider it worth his while to take the trouble seriously to consult
+these musty old tomes. Many a scholar, however, has found his labor
+well rewarded by the discovery of many an anticipation of modern
+science in these volumes so much neglected and where such
+treasure-trove is least expected. Professor Clifford Allbutt, the
+Regius Professor of physics at the University of Cambridge, in his
+address on "The Historical Relations of Medicine and Surgery Down to
+the End of the Sixteenth Century," which was delivered at the St.
+Louis Congress of Arts and Sciences during the Exposition in 1904, has
+shown how much that is supposed to be distinctly modern in medicine,
+and above all in surgery, was the subject of discussion at the French
+and Italian universities of the thirteenth century. William Salicet,
+for instance, who taught at the University of Bologna, published a
+large series of case histories, substituted the knife for the Arabic
+use of the cautery, described the danger of wounds of the neck,
+investigated the causes of the failure of healing by first intention,
+and sutured divided nerves. His pupil, Lanfranc, who taught later at
+the University of Paris, went farther than his master by
+distinguishing between venous and arterial hemorrhage, requiring
+digital compression for an hour to stop hemorrhage from the <i>venae
+pulsatiles</i>--the pulsating veins, as they were called--and if this
+failed because of the size of the vessel, <a name="52">{52}</a> suggesting the
+application of a ligature. Lanfranc's chapter on injuries to the head
+still remains a noteworthy book in surgery that establishes beyond a
+doubt how thoughtfully practical were these teachers in the medieval
+universities. It must be remembered that at this time all the teachers
+in universities, even those in the medical schools as well as those
+occupied with surgery, were clerics. Professor Allbutt calls attention
+over and over again to this fact, because it emphasizes the
+thoroughness of educational methods, in spite of the supposed
+difficulties that would lie in the way of an exclusively clerical
+teaching staff.
+</p>
+<p>
+In chemistry the advances made during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and
+fifteenth centuries were even more noteworthy than those in any other
+department of science. Albertus Magnus, who taught at Paris, wrote no
+less than sixteen treatises on chemical subjects, and, notwithstanding
+the fact that he was a theologian as well as a scientist and that his
+printed works filled sixteen folio volumes, he somehow found the time
+to make many observations for himself and performed numberless
+experiments in order to clear up doubts. The larger histories of
+chemistry accord him his proper place and hail him as a great founder
+in chemistry and a pioneer in original investigation.
+</p>
+<p>
+Even St. Thomas of Aquin, much as he was occupied with theology and
+philosophy, found some time to devote to chemical questions. After
+<a name="53">{53}</a> all, this is only what might have been expected of the favorite
+pupil of Albertus Magnus. Three treatises on chemical subjects from
+Aquinas's pen have been preserved for us, and it is to him that we are
+said to owe the origin of the word amalgam, which he first used in
+describing various chemical methods of metallic combination with
+mercury that were discovered in the search for the genuine
+transmutation of metals.
+</p>
+<p>
+Albertus Magnus's other great scientific pupil, Roger Bacon, the
+English Franciscan friar, followed more closely in the physical
+scientific ways of his great master. Altogether he wrote some eighteen
+treatises on chemical subjects. For a long time it was considered that
+he was the inventor of gunpowder, though this is now known to have
+been introduced into Europe by the Arabs. Roger Bacon studied
+gunpowder and various other explosive combinations in considerable
+detail, and it is for this reason that he obtained the undeserved
+reputation of being an original discoverer in this line. How well he
+realized how much might be accomplished by means of the energy stored
+up in explosives can perhaps be best appreciated from the fact that he
+suggested that boats would go along the rivers and across the seas
+without either sails or oars and that carriages would go along the
+streets without horse or man power. He considered that man would
+eventually invent a method of harnessing these explosive mixtures and
+of utilizing their energies for his purposes without <a name="54">{54}</a> danger. It
+is curiously interesting to find, as we begin the twentieth century,
+and gasolene is so commonly used for the driving of automobiles and
+motor boats and is being introduced even on railroad cars in the West
+as the most available source of energy for suburban traffic, that this
+generation should only be fulfilling the idea of the old Franciscan
+friar of the thirteenth century, who prophesied that in explosives
+there was the secret of eventually manageable energy for
+transportation purposes.
+</p>
+<p>
+Succeeding centuries were not as fruitful in great scientists as the
+thirteenth, and yet at the beginning of the fourteenth there was a
+pope, three of whose scientific treatises--one on the transmutation of
+metals, which he considers an impossibility, at least as far as the
+manufacture of gold and silver was concerned; a treatise on diseases
+of the eyes, of which Professor Allbutt [Footnote 4] says that it was
+not without its distinctive practical value, though compiled so early
+in the history of eye surgery; and, finally, his treatise on the
+preservation of the health, written when he was himself over eighty
+years of age--are all considered by good authorities as worthy of the
+best scientific spirit of the time. This pope was John XXII, of whom
+it has been said over and over again by Protestant historians that he
+issued a bull forbidding chemistry, though he was himself one of the
+enthusiastic students of chemistry <a name="55">{55}</a> in his younger years and
+always retained his interest in the science. [Footnote 5]
+</p>
+<p class="footnote">
+  [Footnote 4: Address cited]
+<br><br>
+  [Footnote 5: For the refutation of this calumny with regard to John
+  XXII, see "Pope John XXII and the supposed Bull forbidding
+  Chemistry," by James J. Walsh, Ph. D., LL. D., in the <i>Medical
+  Library and Historical Journal</i>, October, 1905.]
+</p>
+<p>
+During the fourteenth century Arnold of Villanova, the inventor of
+nitric acid, and the two Hollanduses kept up the tradition of original
+investigation in chemistry. Altogether there are some dozen treatises
+from these three men on chemical subjects. The Hollanduses
+particularly did their work in a spirit of thoroughly frank, original
+investigation. They were more interested in minerals than in any other
+class of substances, but did not waste much time on the question of
+transmutation of metals. Professor Thompson, the professor of
+chemistry at Edinburgh, said in his history of chemistry many years
+ago that the Hollanduses have very clear descriptions of their
+processes of treating minerals in investigating their composition,
+which serve to show that their knowledge was by no means entirely
+theoretical or acquired only from books or by argumentation.
+</p>
+<p>
+Before the end of this fourteenth century, according to the best
+authorities on this subject, Basil Valentine, the more particular
+subject of our essay, was born.
+</p>
+<p>
+Valentine's career is a typical example of the personally obscure but
+intellectually brilliant lives <a name="56">{56}</a> which these old monks lived. It
+seems probable, according to the best authorities, as we have said,
+that his work began shortly before the middle of the fifteenth
+century, although most of what was important in it was accomplished
+during the second half. It would not be so surprising, as most people
+who have been brought up to consider the period just before the
+Reformation in Germany as wanting in progressive scholars might
+imagine, for a supremely great original investigator to have existed
+in North Germany about this time. After all, before the end of the
+century, Copernicus, the Pole, working in northern Germany, had
+announced his theory that the earth was not the center of the
+universe, and had set forth all that this announcement meant. To a
+bishop-friend who said to him, "But this means that you are giving us
+a new universe," he replied that the universe was already there, but
+his theory would lead men to recognize its existence. In southern
+Germany, Thomas à Kempis, who died in 1471, had traced for man the
+outlines of another universe, that of his own soul, from its
+mystically practical side. These great Germans were only the worthy
+contemporaries of many other German scholars scarcely less
+distinguished than these supreme geniuses. The second half of the
+fifteenth century, the beginning of the Renaissance in Germany as well
+as Italy, is that wonderful time in history when somehow men's eyes
+were opened to see farther and their minds broadened to gather in more
+of the truth of <a name="57">{57}</a> man's relation to the universe, than had ever
+before been the case in all the centuries of human existence, or than
+has ever been possible even in these more modern centuries, though
+supposedly we are the heirs of all the ages in the foremost files of
+time.
+</p>
+<p>
+Coming as he did before printing, when the spirit of tradition was
+even more rife and dominating than it has been since, it is almost
+needless to say that there are many curious legends associated with
+the name of Basil Valentine. Two centuries before his time, Roger
+Bacon, doing his work in England, had succeeded in attracting so much
+attention even from the common people, because of his wonderful
+scientific discoveries, that his name became a by-word and many
+strange magical feats were attributed to him. Friar Bacon was the
+great wizard even in the plays of the Elizabethan period. A number of
+the same sort of myths attached themselves to the Benedictine monk of
+the fifteenth century. He was proclaimed in popular story to have been
+a wonderful magician. Even his manuscript, it was said, had not been
+published directly, but had been hidden in a pillar in the church
+attached to the monastery and had been discovered there after the
+splitting open of the pillar by a bolt of lightning from heaven. It is
+the extension of this tradition that has sometimes led to the
+assumption that Valentine lived in an earlier century, some even going
+so far as to say that he, too, like Roger Bacon, was a product of the
+<a name="58">{58}</a> thirteenth century. It seems reasonably possible, however, to
+separate the traditional from what is actual in his existence, and
+thus to obtain some idea at least of his work, if not of the details
+of his life. The internal evidence from his works enable the historian
+of science to place him within a half century of the discovery of
+America.
+</p>
+<p>
+One of the stories told with regard to Basil Valentine, because it has
+become a commonplace in philology, has made him more generally known
+than any of his actual discoveries. In one of the most popular of the
+old-fashioned text-books of chemistry in use a quarter of a century
+ago, in the chapter on Antimony, there was a story that I suppose
+students never forgot. It was said that Basil Valentine, a monk of the
+Middle Ages, was the discoverer of this substance. After having
+experimented with it in a number of ways, he threw some of it out of
+his laboratory one day, where the swine of the monastery, finding it,
+proceeded to gobble it up together with some other refuse. He watched
+the effect upon the swine very carefully, and found that, after a
+preliminary period of digestive disturbance, these swine developed an
+enormous appetite and became fatter than any of the others. This
+seemed a rather desirable result, and Basil Valentine, ever on the
+search for the practical, thought that he might use the remedy to good
+purpose even on the members of the community.
+</p>
+<p>
+Now, some of the monks in the monastery were of rather frail health
+and delicate constitution, <a name="59">{59}</a> and he thought that the putting on of
+a little fat in their case might be a good thing. Accordingly he
+administered, surreptitiously, some of the salts of antimony, with
+which he was experimenting, in the food served to these monks. The
+result, however, was not so favorable as in the case of the hogs.
+Indeed, according to one, though less authentic, version of the story,
+some of the poor monks, the unconscious subjects of the experiment,
+even perished as the result of the ingestion of the antimonial
+compounds. According to the better version they suffered only the
+usual unpleasant consequences of taking antimony, which are, however,
+quite enough for a fitting climax to the story. Basil Valentine called
+the new substance which he had discovered antimony, that is, opposed
+to monks. It might be good for hogs, but it was a form of monks' bane,
+as it were. [Footnote 6]
+</p>
+<p class="footnote">
+  [Footnote 6: It is curious to trace how old are the traditions on
+  which some of these old stories that must now be rejected, are
+  founded. I have come upon the story with regard to Basil Valentine
+  and the antimony and the monks in an old French medical encyclopedia
+  of biography, published in the seventeenth century, and at that time
+  there was no doubt at all expressed as to its truth. How much older
+  than this it may be I do not know, though it is probable that it
+  comes from the sixteenth century, when the <i>kakoethes scribendi</i>
+  attacked many people because of the facility of printing, and when
+  most of the good stories that have so worried the modern dry-as-dust
+  historian in his researches for their correction became a part of
+  the body of supposed historical tradition.]
+</p>
+<a name="60">{60}</a>
+<p>
+Unfortunately for most of the good stories of history, modern
+criticism has nearly always failed to find any authentic basis for
+them, and they have had to go the way of the legends of Washington's
+hatchet and Tell's apple. We are sorry to say that that seems to be
+true also of this particular story. Antimony, the word, is very
+probably derived from certain dialectic forms of the Greek word for
+the metal, and the name is no more derived from <i>anti</i> and <i>monachus</i>
+than it is from <i>anti</i> and <i>monos</i> (opposed to single existence),
+another fictitious derivation that has been suggested, and one whose
+etymological value is supposed to consist in the fact that antimony is
+practically never found alone in nature.
+</p>
+<p>
+Notwithstanding the apparent cloud of unfounded traditions that are
+associated with his name, there can be no doubt at all of the fact
+that Valentinus--to give him the Latin name by which he is commonly
+designated in foreign literatures--was one of the great geniuses who,
+working in obscurity, make precious steps into the unknown that enable
+humanity after them to see things more clearly than ever before. There
+are definite historical grounds for placing Basil Valentine as the
+first of the series of careful observers who differentiated chemistry
+from the old alchemy and applied its precious treasures of information
+to the uses of medicine. It was because of the study of Basil
+Valentine's work that Paracelsus broke away from the Galenic
+traditions, so supreme in medicine up to his time, <a name="61">{61}</a> and began our
+modern pharmaceutics. Following on the heels of Paracelsus came Van
+Helmont, the father of modern medical chemistry, and these three did
+more than any others to enlarge the scope of medication and to make
+observation rather than authority the most important criterion of
+truth in medicine. Indeed, the work of these three men dominated
+medicine, or at least the department of pharmaceutics, down almost to
+our own day, and their influence is still felt in drug-giving.
+</p>
+<p>
+While we do not know the absolute date of either the birth or the
+death of Basil Valentine and are not sure even of the exact period in
+which he lived and did his work, we are sure that a great original
+observer about the time of the invention of printing studied mercury
+and sulphur and various salts, and above all, introduced antimony to
+the notice of the scientific world, and especially to the favor of
+practitioners of medicine. His book, "The Triumphal Chariot of
+Antimony," is full of conclusions not quite justified by his premises
+nor by his observations. There is no doubt, however, that the
+observational methods which he employed did give an immense amount of
+knowledge and formed the basis of the method of investigation by which
+the chemical side of medicine was to develop during the next two or
+three centuries. Great harm was done by the abuse of antimony, but
+then great harm is done by the abuse of anything, no matter how good
+it may be. For a <a name="62">{62}</a> time it came to be the most important drug in
+medicine and was only replaced by venesection.
+</p>
+<p>
+The fact of the matter is that doctors were looking for effects from
+their drugs, and antimony is, above all things, effective. Patients,
+too, wished to see the effect of the medicines they took. They do so
+even yet, and when antimony was administered there was no doubt about
+its working.
+</p>
+<p>
+Some five years ago, when Sir Michael Foster, M.D., professor of
+physiology in the University of Cambridge, England, was invited to
+deliver the Lane lectures at the Cooper Medical College, in San
+Francisco, he took for his subject "The History of Physiology." In the
+course of his lecture on "The Rise of Chemical Physiology" he began
+with the name of Basil Valentine, who first attracted men's attention
+to the many chemical substances around them that might be used in the
+treatment of disease, and said of him:--
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  He was one of the alchemists, but in addition to his inquiries into
+  the properties of metals and his search for the philosopher's stone,
+  he busied himself with the nature of drugs, vegetable and mineral,
+  and with their action as remedies for disease. He was no anatomist,
+  no physiologist, but rather what nowadays we should call a
+  pharmacologist. He did not care for the problem of the body, all he
+  sought to understand was how the constituents of the soil and of
+  plants might be treated so as to be available for healing the sick
+  and how they produced their effects. We apparently owe to him the
+  introduction of many chemical substances, for instance, of <a name="63">{63}</a>
+  hydrochloric acid, which he prepared from oil of vitriol and salt,
+  and of many vegetable drugs. And he was apparently the author of
+  certain conceptions which, as we shall see, played an important part
+  in the development of chemistry and of physiology. To him, it seems,
+  we owe the idea of the three "elements," as they were and have been
+  called, replacing the old idea of the ancients of the four
+  elements--earth, air, fire, and water. It must be remembered,
+  however, that both in the ancient and in the new idea the word
+  "element" was not intended to mean that which it means to us now, a
+  fundamental unit of matter, but a general quality or property of
+  matter. The three elements of Valentine were (1) sulphur, or that
+  which is combustible, which is changed or destroyed, or which at all
+  events disappears during burning or combustion; (2) mercury, that
+  which temporarily disappears during burning or combustion, which is
+  dissociated in the burning from the body burnt, but which may be
+  recovered, that is to say, that which is volatile, and (3) salt,
+  that which is fixed, the residue or ash which remains after burning.
+</p>
+<p>
+The most interesting of Basil Valentine's books, and the one which has
+had the most enduring influence, is undoubtedly "The Triumphal Chariot
+of Antimony." It has been translated and has had a wide vogue in every
+language of modern Europe. Its recommendation of antimony had such an
+effect upon medical practice that it continued to be the most
+important drug in the pharmacopoeia down almost to the middle of the
+nineteenth century. If any proof were needed that Basil Valentine or
+that the author of the books that go under that name was a monk, it
+would be found in the <a name="64">{64}</a> introduction to this volume, which not only
+states that fact very clearly, but also in doing so makes use of
+language that shows the writer to have been deeply imbued with the old
+monastic spirit. I quote the first paragraph of this introduction in
+order to make clear what I mean. The quotation is taken from the
+English translation of the work as published in London in 1678.
+Curiously enough, seeing the obscurity surrounding Valentine himself,
+we do not know for sure who made the translation. The translator
+apologizes somewhat for the deeply religious spirit of the book, but
+considers that he was not justified in eliminating any of this. Of
+course, the translation is left in the quaint old-fashioned form so
+eminently suited to the thoughts of the old master, and the spelling
+and use of capitals is not changed:
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  Basil Valentine--His Triumphant Chariot of Antimony Since I, Basil
+  Valentine, by Religious Vows am bound to live according to the Order
+  of St. Benedict, and that requires another manner of spirit of
+  Holiness than the common state of Mortals exercised in the profane
+  business of this World; I thought it my duty before all things, in
+  the beginning of this little book, to declare what is necessary to
+  be known by the pious Spagyrist [old-time name for medical chemist],
+  inflamed with an ardent desire of this Art, as what he ought to do,
+  and whereunto to direct his aim, that he may lay such foundations of
+  the whole matter as may be stable; lest his Building, shaken with
+  the Winds, happen to fall, and the whole Edifice to be involved in
+  shameful Ruine, <a name="65">{65}</a> which otherwise, being founded on more firm and
+  solid principles, might have continued for a long series of time
+  Which Admonition I judged was, is and always will be a necessary
+  part of my Religious Office; especially since we must all die, and
+  no one of us which are now, whether high or low, shall long be seen
+  among the number of men For it concerns me to recommend these
+  Meditations of Mortality to Posterity, leaving them behind me, not
+  only that honor may be given to the Divine Majesty, but also that
+  Men may obey him sincerely in all things.
+<br><br>
+  In this my Meditation I found that there were five principal heads,
+  chiefly to be considered by the wise and prudent spectators of our
+  Wisdom and Art. The first of which is, Invocation of God. The
+  second, Contemplation of Nature The third, True Preparation. The
+  fourth, the Way of Using. The fifth, Utility and Fruit. For he who
+  regards not these, shall never obtain place among true Chymists, or
+  fill up the number of perfect Spagyrists. Therefore, touching these
+  five heads, we shall here following treat and so far declare them,
+  as that the general Work may be brought to light and perfected by an
+  intent and studious Operator.
+</p>
+<p>
+This book, though the title might seem to indicate it, is not devoted
+entirely to the study of antimony, but contains many important
+additions to the chemistry of the time. For instance, Basil Valentine
+explains in this work how what he calls the spirit of salt might be
+obtained. He succeeded in manufacturing this material by treating
+common salt with oil of vitriol and heat. From the description of the
+uses to which he put the end product of his chemical manipulation, it
+is evident that under the name of spirit of salt <a name="66">{66}</a> he is describing
+what we now know as hydrochloric acid. This is the first definite
+mention of it in the history of science, and the method suggested for
+its preparation is not very different from that employed even at the
+present time. He also suggests in this volume how alcohol may be
+obtained in high strengths. He distilled the spirit obtained from wine
+over carbonate of potassium, and thus succeeded in depriving it of a
+great proportion of its water.
+</p>
+<p>
+We have said that he was deeply interested in the philosopher's stone.
+Naturally this turned his attention to the study of metals, and so it
+is not surprising to find that he succeeded in formulating a method by
+which metallic copper could be obtained. The substance used for the
+purpose was copper pyrites, which was changed to an impure sulphate of
+copper by the action of oil of vitriol and moist air. The sulphate of
+copper occurred in solution, and the copper could be precipitated from
+it by plunging an iron bar into it. Basil Valentine recognized the
+presence of this peculiar yellow metal and studied some of its
+qualities. He does not seem to have been quite sure, however, whether
+the phenomenon that he witnessed was not really a transmutation of the
+iron into copper, as a consequence of the other chemicals present.
+</p>
+<p>
+There are some observations on chemical physiology, and especially
+with regard to respiration, in the book on antimony which show their
+author to have anticipated the true explanation of the <a name="67">{67}</a> theory of
+respiration. He states that animals breathe, because the air is needed
+to support their life, and that all the animals exhibit the phenomenon
+of respiration. He even insists that the fishes, though living in
+water, breathe air, and he adduces in support of this idea the fact
+that whenever a river is entirely frozen the fishes die. The reason
+for this being, according to this old-time physiologist, not that the
+fishes are frozen to death, but that they are not able to obtain air
+in the ice as they did in the water, and consequently perish.
+</p>
+<p>
+There are many testimonies to the practical character of all his
+knowledge and his desire to apply it for the benefit of humanity. The
+old monk could not repress the expression of his impatience with
+physicians who gave to patients for diseases of which they knew
+little, remedies of which they knew less. For him it was an
+unpardonable sin for a physician not to have faithfully studied the
+various mixtures that he prescribed for his patients, and not to know
+not only their appearance and taste and effect, but also the limits of
+their application. Considering that at the present time it is a
+frequent source of complaint that physicians often prescribe remedies
+with whose physical appearances they are not familiar, this complaint
+of the old-time chemist alchemist will be all the more interesting for
+the modern physician. It is evident that when Basil Valentine allows
+his ire to get the better of him it is because of his indignation over
+the <a name="68">{68}</a> quacks who were abusing medicine and patients in his time, as
+they have ever since. There is a curious bit of aspersion on mere
+book-learning in the passage that has a distinctly modern ring, and
+one feels the truth of Russell Lowell's expression that to read a
+great genius, no matter how antique, is like reading a commentary in
+the morning paper, so up-to-date does genius ever remain:--
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  And whensoever I shall have occasion to contend in the School with
+  such a Doctor, who knows not how himself to prepare his own
+  medicines, but commits that business to another, I am sure I shall
+  obtain the Palm from him; for indeed that good man knows not what
+  medicines he prescribes to the sick; whether the color of them be
+  white, black, grey, or blew, he cannot tell; nor doth this wretched
+  man know whether the medicine he gives be dry or hot, cold or humid;
+  but he only knows that he found it so written in his Books, and
+  thence pretends knowledge (or as it were, Possession) by
+  Prescription of a very long time; yet he desires to further
+  Information Here again let it be lawful to exclaim, Good God, to
+  what a state is the matter brought! what goodness of minde is in
+  these men! what care do they take of the sick! Wo, wo to them! in
+  the day of Judgment they will find the fruit of their ignorance and
+  rashness, then they will see Him whom they pierced, when they
+  neglected their Neighbor, sought after money and nothing else;
+  whereas were they cordial in their profession, they would spend
+  Nights and Days in Labour that they might become more learned in
+  their Art, whence more certain health would accrew to the sick with
+  their Estimation and greater glory to themselves. But since Labour
+  is tedious to them, they commit the <a name="69">{69}</a> matter to chance, and being
+  secure of their Honour, and content with their Fame, they (like
+  Brawlers) defend themselves with a certain garrulity, without any
+  respect had to Confidence or Truth.
+</p>
+<p>
+Perhaps one of the reasons why Valentine's book has been of such
+enduring interest is that it is written in an eminently human vein and
+out of a lively imagination. It is full of figures relating to many
+other things besides chemistry, which serve to show how deeply this
+investigating observer was attentive to all the problems of life
+around him. For instance, when he wants to describe the affinity that
+exists between many substances in chemistry, and which makes it
+impossible for them not to be attracted to one another, he takes a
+figure from the attractions that he sees exist among men and women.
+There are some paragraphs with regard to the influence of the passion
+of love that one might think rather a quotation from an old-time
+sermon than from a great ground-breaking book in the science of
+chemistry.
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  Love leaves nothing entire or sound in man; it impedes his sleep; he
+  cannot rest either day or night; it takes off his appetite that he
+  hath no disposition either to meat or drink by reason of the
+  continual torments of his heart and mind. It deprives him of all
+  Providence, hence he neglects his affairs, vocation and business. He
+  minds neither study, labor nor prayer; casts away all thoughts of
+  anything but the body beloved; this is his study, this his most vain
+  occupation. If to lovers the success be not answerable to their
+  wish, or so soon <a name="70">{70}</a> and prosperously as they desire, how many
+  melancholies henceforth arise, with griefs and sadnesses, with which
+  they pine away and wax so lean as they have scarcely any flesh
+  cleaving to the bones Yea, at last they lose the life itself, as may
+  be proved by many examples! for such men, (which is an horrible
+  thing to think of) slight and neglect all perils and detriments,
+  both of the body and life, and of the soul and eternal salvation
+</p>
+<p>
+It is evident that human nature is not different in our sophisticated
+twentieth century from that which this observant old monk saw around
+him in the fifteenth. He continues:--
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  How many testimonies of this violence which is in love, are daily
+  found? for it not only inflames the younger sort, but it so far
+  exaggerates some persons far gone in years as through the burning
+  heat thereof, they are almost mad Natural diseases are for the most
+  part governed by the complexion of man and therefore invade some
+  more fiercely, others more gently; but Love, without distinction of
+  poor or rich, young or old, seizeth all, and having seized so blinds
+  them as forgetting all rules of reason, they neither see nor hear
+  any snare.
+</p>
+<p>
+But then the old monk thinks that he has said enough about this
+subject and apologizes for his digression in another paragraph that
+should remove any lingering doubt there may be with regard to the
+genuineness of his monastic character. The personal element in his
+confession is so naive and so simply straightforward that instead of
+seeming to be the result of conceit, and so repelling the reader, it
+rather attracts his <a name="71">{71}</a> kindly feeling for its author. The paragraph
+would remind one in certain ways of that personal element that was to
+become more popular in literature after Montaigne had made such
+extensive use of it.
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  But of these enough; for it becomes not a religious man to insist
+  too long upon these cogitations, or to give place to such a flame in
+  his heart. Hitherto (without boasting I speak it) I have throughout
+  the whole course of my life kept myself safe and free from it, and I
+  pray and invoke God to vouchsafe me his Grace that I may keep holy
+  and inviolate the faith which I have sworn, and live contented with
+  my spiritual spouse, the Holy, Catholick Church. For no other reason
+  have I alleaged these than that I might express the love with which
+  all tinctures ought to be moved towards metals, if ever they be
+  admitted by them into true friendship, and by love, which permeates
+  the inmost parts, be converted into a better state
+</p>
+<p>
+The application of the figure at the end of his long digression is
+characteristic of the period in which he wrote and to a considerable
+extent also of the German literary methods of the time.
+</p>
+<p>
+In this volume on the use of antimony there are in most of the
+editions certain biographical notes which have sometimes been accepted
+as authentic, but oftener rejected. According to these, Basil
+Valentine was born in a town in Alsace, on the southern bank of the
+Rhine. As a consequence of this, there are several towns that have
+laid claim to being his birthplace. M. Jean Reynaud, the distinguished
+French <a name="72">{72}</a> philosophical writer of the first half of the nineteenth
+century, once said that Basil Valentine, like Ossian and Homer, had
+many towns claim him years after his death. He also suggested that,
+like those old poets, it was possible that the writings sometimes
+attributed to Basil Valentine were really the work not of one man, but
+of several individuals. There are, however, many objections to this
+theory, the most forceful of which is the internal evidence of the
+books themselves and their style and method of treatment. Other
+biographic details contained in "The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony"
+are undoubtedly more correct. According to them, Basil Valentine
+travelled in England and Holland on missions for his Order, and went
+through France and Spain on a pilgrimage to St. James of Compostella.
+</p>
+<p>
+Besides this work, there is a number of other books of Basil
+Valentine's, printed during the first half of the sixteenth century,
+that are well-known and copies of which may be found in most of the
+important libraries. The United States Surgeon General's Library at
+Washington contains several of the works on medical subjects, and the
+New York Academy of Medicine Library has some valuable editions of his
+works. Some of his other well-known books, each of which is a
+good-sized octavo volume, bear the following descriptive titles (I
+give them in English, though, as they are usually to be found, they
+are in Latin, sixteenth-century <a name="73">{73}</a> translations of the original
+German): "The World in Miniature: or, The Mystery of the World and of
+Human Medical Science," published at Marburg, 1609;--"The Chemical
+Apocalypse: or, The Manifestation of Artificial Chemical Compounds,"
+published at Erfurt in 1624;--"A Chemico-Philosophic Treatise
+Concerning Things Natural and Preternatural, Especially Relating to
+the Metals and the Minerals," published at Frankfurt in
+1676;--"Haliography: or, The Science of Salts: A Treatise on the
+Preparation, Use and Chemical Properties of All the Mineral, Animal
+and Vegetable Salts," published at Bologna in 1644;--"The Twelve Keys
+of Philosophy," Leipsic, 1630.
+</p>
+<p>
+The great interest manifested in Basil Valentine's work at the
+Renaissance period can be best realized from the number of manuscript
+copies and their wide distribution. His books were not all printed at
+one place, but, on the contrary, in different portions of Europe. The
+original edition of "The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony" was published
+at Leipsic in the early part of the sixteenth century. The first
+editions of the other books, however, appeared at places so distant
+from Leipsic as Amsterdam and Bologna, while various cities of
+Germany, as Erfurt and Frankfurt, claim the original editions of still
+other works. Many of the manuscript copies still exist in various
+libraries in Europe; and while there is no doubt that some unimportant
+additions to the supposed works of Basil Valentine have come <a name="74">{74}</a> from
+the attribution to him of scientific treatises of other German
+writers, the style and the method of the principal works mentioned are
+entirely too similar not to have been the fruit of a single mind and
+that possessed of a distinct investigating genius setting it far above
+any of its contemporaries in scientific speculation and observation.
+</p>
+<p>
+The most interesting feature of all of Basil Valentine's writings that
+are extant is the distinctive tendency to make his observations of
+special practical utility. His studies in antimony were made mainly
+with the idea of showing how that substance might be used in medicine.
+He did not neglect to point out other possible uses, however, and knew
+the secret of the employment of antimony in order to give sharpness
+and definition to the impression produced by metal types. It would
+seem as though he was the first scientist who discussed this subject,
+and there is even some question whether printers and type founders did
+not derive their ideas in this matter from Basil Valentine, rather
+than he from them. Interested as he was in the transmutation of
+metals, he never failed to try to find and suggest some medicinal use
+for all of the substances that he investigated. His was no greedy
+search for gold and no accumulation of investigations with the idea of
+benefiting only himself. Mankind was always in his mind, and perhaps
+there is no better demonstration of his fulfilment of the character of
+the monk than this constant <a name="75">{75}</a> solicitude to benefit others by every
+bit of investigation that he carried out. For him with medieval
+nobleness of spirit the first part of every work must be the
+invocation of God, and the last, though no less important than the
+first, must be the utility and fruit for mankind that can be derived
+from it.
+</p>
+<a name="76">{76}</a>
+<br><br>
+<a name="77">{77}</a>
+<br>
+
+<h2>IV.
+<br><br>
+LINACRE: SCHOLAR, PHYSICIAN, PRIEST.</h2>
+<br>
+
+<a name="78">{78}</a>
+<p>
+Linacre, as Dr. Payne remarks, "was possessed from his youth till his
+death by the enthusiasm of learning. He was an idealist devoted to
+objects which the world thought of little use." Painstaking, accurate,
+critical, hypercritical perhaps, he remains to-day the chief literary
+representative of British Medicine. Neither in Britain nor in Greater
+Britain have we maintained the place in the world of letters created
+for us by Linacre's noble start. Quoted by Osler in <i>AEquanimitas</i>.
+</p>
+
+<p align=center>
+<img style="width: 367px; height: 429px;" alt=""
+     src="images/79p.jpg" border=1>
+<br><br>
+THOMAS LINACRE
+</p>
+<br>
+<a name="79">{79}</a>
+<br>
+<h2>IV.
+<br><br>
+LINACRE: SCHOLAR, PHYSICIAN, PRIEST.</h2>
+<p>
+Not long ago, in one of his piquant little essays, Mr. Augustine
+Birrell discussed the question as to what really happened at the time
+of the so-called Reformation in England. There is much more doubt with
+regard to this matter, even in the minds of non-Catholics, than is
+usually suspected. Mr. Birrell seems to have considered it one of the
+most important problems, and at the same time not by any means the
+least intricate one, in modern English history. The so-called High
+Church people emphatically insist that there is no break in the
+continuity of the Church of England, and that the modern Anglicanism
+is a direct descendant of the old British Church. They reject with
+scorn the idea that it was the Lutheran movement on the Continent
+which brought about the changes in the Anglican Church at that time.
+Protestantism did not come into England for a considerable period
+after the change in the constitution of the Anglican Church, and when
+it did come its tendencies were quite as subversal of the authority of
+the Anglican as of the Roman Church, Protestantism is the mother of
+Nonconformism in England. It can be seen, then, that the question as
+to what did really take place in the time <a name="80">{80}</a> of Henry VIII and of
+Edward VI is still open. It has seemed to me that no little light on
+this vexed historical question will be thrown by a careful study of
+the life of Dr. Linacre, who, besides being the best known physician
+of his time in England, was the greatest scholar of the English
+Renaissance period, yet had all his life been on very intimate terms
+with the ecclesiastical authorities, and eventually gave up his
+honors, his fortune, and his profession to become a simple priest of
+the old English Church.
+</p>
+<p>
+Considering the usually accepted notions as to the sad state of
+affairs supposed to exist in the Church at the beginning of the
+sixteenth century, this is a very remarkable occurrence, and deserves
+careful study to determine its complete significance, for it tells
+better than anything else the opinion of a distinguished contemporary.
+Few men have ever been more highly thought of by their own generation.
+None has been more sincerely respected by intimate friends, who were
+themselves the leaders of the thought of their generation, than Thomas
+Linacre, scholar, physician and priest; and his action must stand as
+the highest possible tribute to the Church in England at that time.
+</p>
+<p>
+How unimpaired his practical judgment of men and affairs was at the
+time he made his change from royal physician to simple priest can best
+be gathered from the sagacity displayed in the foundation of the Royal
+College of Physicians, an institution he was endowing with the <a name="81">{81}</a>
+wealth he had accumulated in some twenty years of most lucrative
+medical practice. The Royal College of Physicians represents the first
+attempt to secure the regulation of the practice of medicine in
+England, and, thanks to its founder's wonderful foresight and
+practical wisdom, it remains down to our own day, under its original
+constitution, one of the most effective and highly honored of British
+scientific foundations. No distinction is more sought at the present
+time by young British medical men, or by American or even Continental
+graduates in medicine, than the privilege of adding to their names the
+letters "F.R.C.P.(Eng.)," Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of
+England. The College worked the reformation of medical practice in
+England, and its methods have proved the suggestive formulae for many
+another such institution and for laws that all over the world protect,
+to some extent at least, the public from quacks and charlatans.
+</p>
+<p>
+Linacre's change of profession at the end of his life has been a
+fruitful source of conjecture and misconception on the part of his
+biographers. Few of them seem to be able to appreciate the fact,
+common enough in the history of the Church, that a man may, even when
+well on in years, give up everything to which his life has been so far
+directed, and from a sense of duty devote himself entirely to the
+attainment of "the one thing necessary." Linacre appears only to have
+done what many another in the history of <a name="82">{82}</a> the thirteenth,
+fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries did without any comment; but his
+English biographers insist on seeing ulterior motives in it, or else
+fail entirely to understand it. The same action is not so rare even in
+our own day that it should be the source of misconception by later
+writers.
+</p>
+<p>
+Dr. S. Weir Mitchell has, in the early part of <i>Dr. North and His
+Friends</i>, a very curious passage with regard to Linacre. One of the
+characters, St. Clair, says: "I saw, the other day, at Owen's, a life
+of one Linacre, a doctor, who had the luck to live about 1460 to 1524,
+when men knew little and thought they knew all. In his old age he took
+for novelty to reading St. Matthew. The fifth, sixth, and seventh
+chapters were enough. He threw the book aside and cried out, 'Either
+this is not the Gospel, or we are not Christians.' What else could he
+say?" St. Clair uses the story to enforce an idea of his own, which he
+states as a question, as follows: "And have none of you the courage to
+wrestle with the thought I gave you, that Christ could not have
+expected the mass of men to live the life He pointed out as desirable
+for the first disciples of His faith?"
+</p>
+<p>
+Dr. Mitchell's anecdote is not accepted by Linacre's biographers
+generally, though it is copied by Dr. Payne, the writer of the article
+on Linacre in the (English) <i>Dictionary of National Biography</i>, who,
+however, discredits it somewhat. The story is founded on Sir John
+Cheke's <a name="83">{83}</a> account of the conversion of Linacre. It is very
+doubtful, however, whether Linacre's deprecations of the actions of
+Christians had reference to anything more than the practice of false
+swearing so forcibly denounced in the Scriptures, which had apparently
+become frequent in his time. This is Selden's version of the story as
+quoted by Dr. Johnson, who was Linacre's well-known biographer. Sir
+John Cheke in his account seems to hint that this chance reading of
+the Scriptures represented the first occasion Linacre had ever taken
+of an opportunity to read the New Testament. Perhaps we are expected
+to believe that, following the worn-out Protestant tradition of the
+old Church's discouraging of the reading of the Bible, and of the
+extreme scarcity of copies of the Book, this was the first time he had
+ever had a good opportunity to read it. This, of course, is nonsense.
+</p>
+<p>
+Linacre's early education had been obtained at the school of the
+monastery of Christ Church at Canterbury, and the monastery schools
+all used the New Testament as a text-book, and as the offices of the
+day at which the students were required to attend contain these very
+passages from Matthew which Linacre is supposed to have read for the
+first time later in life, this idea is preposterous. Besides, Linacre,
+as one of the great scholars of his time, intimate friend of Sir
+Thomas More, of Dean Colet, and Erasmus, can scarcely be thought to
+find his first copy of the Bible only when advanced in years. This is
+<a name="84">{84}</a> evidently a post-Reformation addition, part of the Protestant
+tradition with regard to the supposed suppression of the Scriptures in
+pre-Reformation days, which every one acknowledges now to be without
+foundation.
+</p>
+<p>
+Linacre, as many another before and since, seems only to have realized
+the true significance of the striking passages in Matthew after life's
+experiences and disappointments had made him take more seriously the
+clauses of the Sermon on the Mount. There is much in fifth, sixth, and
+seventh Matthew that might disturb the complacent equanimity of a man
+whose main objects in life, though pursued with all honorable
+unselfishness, had been the personal satisfaction of wide scholarship
+and success in his chosen profession.
+</p>
+<p>
+With regard to Sir John Cheke's story, Dr. John Noble Johnson, who
+wrote the life of Thomas Linacre, [Footnote 7] which is accepted as
+the authoritative biography by all subsequent writers, says: "The
+whole statement carries with it an air of invention, if not on the
+part of Cheke himself, at least on that of the individual from whom he
+derives it, and it is refuted by <a name="85">{85}</a> Linacre's known habits of
+moderation and the many ecclesiastical friendships which, with a
+single exception, were preserved without interruption until his death.
+It was a most frequent mode of silencing opposition to the received
+and established tenets of the Church, when arguments were wanting, to
+brand the impugner with the opprobrious titles of heretic and infidel,
+the common resource of the enemies to innovation in every age and
+country."
+</p>
+<p class="footnote">
+  [Footnote 7: "The Life of Thomas Linacre," Doctor in Medicine,
+  Physician to King Henry VIII, the Tutor and Friend of Sir Thomas
+  More and the Founder of the College of Physicians in London By John
+  Noble Johnson, M D., late Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians,
+  London. Edited by Robert Graves, of the Inner Temple, Barrister at
+  Law London: Edward Lumley, Chancery Lane 1835.]
+</p>
+<p>
+The interesting result of the reflections inspired in Linacre by the
+reading of Matthew was, as has been said, the resignation of his high
+office of Royal Physician and the surrender of his wealth for the
+foundation of chairs in Medicine and Greek at Oxford and Cambridge.
+With the true liberal spirit of a man who wished to accomplish as much
+good as possible, his foundations were not limited to his own
+University of Oxford. After these educational foundations, however,
+his wealth was applied to the endowment of the Royal College of
+Physicians and its library, and to the provision of such accessories
+as might be expected to make the College a permanently useful
+institution, though left at the same time perfectly capable of that
+evolution which would suit it to subsequent times and the development
+of the science and practice of medicine.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is evident that the life of such a man can scarcely fail to be of
+personal as well as historic interest.
+</p>
+<a name="86">{86}</a>
+<p>
+Thomas Linacre was born about 1460--the year is uncertain--at
+Canterbury. Nothing is known of his parents or their condition, though
+this very silence in their regard would seem to indicate that they
+were poor and obscure. His education was obtained at the school of the
+monastery of Christ Church, Canterbury, then presided over by the
+famous William Selling, the first of the great students of the new
+learning in England. Selling's interest seems to have helped Linacre
+to get to Oxford, where he entered at All Souls' College in 1480. In
+1484 he was elected a Fellow of the College, and seems to have
+distinguished himself in Greek, to which he applied himself with
+special assiduity under Cornelio Vitelli. Though Greek is sometimes
+spoken of as having been introduced into Western Europe only at the
+beginning of the sixteenth century, Linacre undoubtedly laid the
+foundation of that remarkable knowledge of the language which he
+displayed at a later period of his life, during his student days at
+Oxford in the last quarter of the fifteenth century.
+</p>
+<p>
+Linacre went to Italy under the most auspicious circumstances. His old
+tutor and friend at Canterbury, Selling, who had become one of the
+leading ecclesiastics of England, was sent to Rome as an Ambassador by
+Henry VII. He took Linacre with him. A number of English scholars had
+recently been in Italy and had attracted attention by their geniality,
+by their thorough-going devotion to scholarly studies, <a name="87">{87}</a> and by
+their success in their work. Selling himself had made a number of firm
+friends among the Italian students of the New Learning on a former
+visit, and they now welcomed him with enthusiasm and were ready to
+receive his protégé with goodwill and provide him with the best
+opportunities for study. As a member of the train of the English
+ambassador, Linacre had an entrée to political circles that proved of
+great service to him, and put him on a distinct footing above that of
+the ordinary English student in Italy.
+</p>
+<p>
+Partly because of these and partly because of his own interesting and
+attractive personal character, Linacre had a number of special
+opportunities promptly placed at his disposal. Church dignitaries in
+Rome welcomed him and he was at once received into scholarly circles
+wherever he went in Italy. Almost as soon as he arrived in Florence,
+where he expected seriously to take up the study of Latin and Greek,
+he became the intimate friend of the family of Lorenzo de' Medici, who
+was so charmed with his personality and his readily recognizable
+talent that he chose him for the companion of his son's studies and
+received him into his own household.
+</p>
+<p>
+Politian was at this time the tutor of the young de' Medici in Latin,
+and Demetrius Chalcondylas the tutor in Greek. Under these two eminent
+scholars Linacre obtained a knowledge of Latin and Greek such as it
+would have been impossible to have obtained under any other <a name="88">{88}</a>
+circumstances, and which with his talents at once stamped him as one
+of the foremost humanistic scholars in Europe. While in Florence he
+came in contact with Lorenzo the Magnificent's younger son, who
+afterwards became Leo X. The friendship thus formed lasted all during
+Linacre's lifetime, and later on he dedicated at least one of his
+books to Alexander de' Medici after the latter's elevation to the
+papal throne.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is no wonder that Linacre always looked back on Italy as the Alma
+Mater--the fond mother in the fullest sense of the term--to whom he
+owed his precious opportunities for education and the broadest
+possible culture. In after-life the expression of his feelings was
+often tinged with romantic tenderness. It is said that when he was
+crossing the Alps, on his homeward journey, leaving Italy after
+finishing his years of apprenticeship of study, standing on the
+highest point of the mountains from which he could still see the
+Italian plains, he built with his own hands a rough altar of stone and
+dedicated it to the land of his studies--the land in which he had
+spent six happy years--under the fond title of <i>Sancta Mater
+Studiorum</i>.
+</p>
+<p>
+At first, after his return from Italy, Linacre lectured on Greek at
+Oxford. Something of the influence acquired over English students and
+the good he accomplished may be appreciated from the fact that with
+Grocyn he had such students as More and the famous Dean Colet. Erasmus
+also was attracted from the Netherlands and <a name="89">{89}</a> studied Greek under
+Linacre, to whom he refers in the most kindly and appreciative terms
+many times in his after life. Linacre wrote books besides lecturing,
+and his work on certain fine points in the grammar of classical
+Latinity proved a revelation to English students of the old classical
+languages, for nothing so advanced as this had ever before been
+attempted outside Italy. In one of the last years of the fifteenth
+century Linacre was appointed tutor to Prince Arthur, the elder
+brother of Henry VIII, to whom it will be remembered that Catherine of
+Aragon had been betrothed before her marriage with Henry. Arthur's
+untimely death, however, soon put an end to Linacres' tutorship.
+</p>
+<p>
+As pointed out by Einstein, the reputation of Grocyn and Linacre was
+not confined to England, but soon spread all over the Continent. After
+the death of the great Italian humanists of the fifteenth century, who
+had no worthy successors in the Italian peninsula, these two men
+became the principal European representatives of the New Learning.
+There were other distinguished men, however, such as Vives, the
+Spaniard; Lascaris, the Greek; Buda, or Budaeus, the Frenchman, and
+Erasmus, whom we have already mentioned--all of whom joined at various
+times in praising Linacre.
+</p>
+<p>
+Some of Linacre's books were published by the elder Aldus at Venice;
+and Aldus is even said to have sent his regrets on publishing his
+edition of Linacre's translation of "The Sphere <a name="90">{90}</a> of Proclus," that
+the distinguished English humanist had not forwarded him others of his
+works to print. Aldus appreciatively added the hope that the eloquence
+and classic severity of style in Linacre's works and in those of the
+English humanists generally "might shame the Italian philosophers and
+scholars out of their uncultured methods of writing."
+</p>
+<p>
+Augusta Theodosia Drane (Mother Raphael), in her book on "Christian
+Schools and Scholars," gives a very pleasant picture of how Dean
+Colet, Eramus, and More used at this time to spend their afternoons
+down at Stepney (then a very charming suburb of London), of whose
+parish church Colet was the vicar. They stopped at Colet's house and
+were entertained by his mother, to whom we find pleasant references in
+the letters that passed between these scholars. Linacre was also often
+of the party, and the conversations between these greatest students
+and literary geniuses of their age would indeed be interesting
+reading, if we could only have had preserved for us, in some way, the
+table-talk of those afternoons. Erasmus particularly was noted for his
+wit and for his ability to turn aside any serious discussions that
+might arise among his friends, so as to prevent anything like
+unpleasant argument in their friendly intercourse. A favorite way
+seems to have been to insist on telling one of the old jokes from a
+classic author whose origin would naturally be presumed to be much
+later than the date the New Learning had found for it.
+</p>
+<a name="91">{91}</a>
+<p>
+Dean Colet's mother appears to have been much more than merely the
+conventional hostess. Erasmus sketches her in her ninetieth year with
+her countenance still so fair and cheerful that you would think she
+had never shed a tear. Her son tells in some of his letters to Erasmus
+and More of how much his mother liked his visitors and how agreeable
+she found their talk and witty conversation. They seem to have
+appreciated her in turn, for in Mother Raphael's chapter on English
+Scholars of the Renaissance there is something of a description of her
+garden, in which were to be found strawberries, lately brought from
+Holland, some of the finer varieties of which Mrs. Colet possessed
+through Erasmus's acquaintance in that country. Mrs. Colet also had
+some of the damask roses that had lately been introduced into England
+by Linacre, who was naturally anxious that the mother of his friend
+should have the opportunity to raise some of the beautiful flowers he
+was so much interested in domesticating in England.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is a very charming picture, this, of the early humanists in
+England, and very different from what might easily be imagined by
+those unfamiliar with the details of the life of the period. Linacre
+was later to give up his worldly emoluments and honors and become a
+clergyman, in order to do good and at the same time satisfy his own
+craving for self-abnegation. More was to rise to the highest positions
+in England, and then for conscience' sake was to suffer death <a name="92">{92}</a>
+rather than yield to the wishes of his king in a matter in which he
+saw principle involved. Dean Colet himself was to be the ornament of
+the English clergy and the model of the scholar clergyman of the eve
+of the Reformation, to whom many generations were to look back as a
+worthy object of reverence. Erasmus was to become involved first with
+and then against Luther, and to be offered a cardinal's hat before his
+death. His work, like Newman's, was done entirely in the intellectual
+field. Meantime, in the morning of life, all of them were enjoying the
+pleasures of friendly intercourse and the charms of domestic felicity
+under circumstances that showed that their study of humanism and their
+admiration for the classics impaired none of their sympathetic
+humanity or their appreciation of the innocent delights of the
+present.
+</p>
+<p>
+For us, however, Linacre's most interesting biographic details are
+those which relate to medicine, for, besides his humanistic studies
+while in Italy, Linacre graduated in medicine, obtaining the degree of
+doctor at Padua. The memory of the brilliant disputation which he
+sustained in the presence of the medical faculty in order to obtain
+his degree is still one of the precious traditions in the medical
+school of Padua. He does not seem to have considered his medical
+education finished, however, by the mere fact of having obtained his
+doctor's degree, and there is a tradition of his having studied later
+at Vicenza under Nicholas Leonicenus, the most celebrated <a name="93">{93}</a>
+physician and scholar in Italy at the end of the fifteenth century,
+who many years afterwards referred with pardonable pride to the fact
+that he had been Linacre's teacher in medicine.
+</p>
+<p>
+It may seem strange to many that Linacre, with all his knowledge of
+the classics, should have devoted himself for so many years to the
+study of medicine in addition to his humanistic studies. It must not
+be forgotten, however, that the revival of the classics of Latin and
+Greek brought with it a renewed knowledge of the great Latin and Greek
+fathers of medicine, Hippocrates and Galen. This had a wonderful
+effect in inspiring the medical students of the time with renewed
+enthusiasm for the work in which they were engaged. A knowledge of the
+classics led to the restoration of the study of anatomy, botany, and
+of clinical medicine, which had been neglected in the midst of
+application to the Arabian writers in medicine during the preceding
+centuries. The restoration of the classics made of medicine a
+progressive science in which every student felt the possibility of
+making great discoveries that would endure not only for his own
+reputation but for the benefit of humanity.
+</p>
+<p>
+These thoughts seem to have attracted many promising young men to the
+study of medicine. The result was a period of writing and active
+observation in medicine that undoubtedly makes this one of the most
+important of literary medical eras. Some idea of the activity of the
+writers of the time can be gathered from the important <a name="94">{94}</a> medical
+books--most of them large folios which were printed during the last
+half of the sixteenth century in Italy. There is a series of these
+books to be seen in one of the cases of the library of the
+Surgeon-General at Washington, which, though by no means complete,
+must be a source of never-ending surprise to those who are apt to
+think of this period as a <i>saison morte</i> in medical literature.
+</p>
+<p>
+There must have been an extremely great interest in medicine to
+justify all this printing. Some of the books are among the real
+incunabula of the art of printing. For instance, in 1474 there was
+published at Bologna De Manfredi's "Liber de Homine;" at Venice, in
+1476, Petrus de Albano's work on medicine; and in the next twenty
+years from the same home of printing there came large tomes by
+Angelata, a translation of Celsus, and Aurelius Cornelius and
+Articellus's "Thesaurus Medicorum Veterum," besides several
+translations of Avicenna and Platina's work "De Honesta Voluptate et
+Valetudine." At Ferrara, Arculanus's great work was published, while
+at Modena there appeared the "Hortus Sanitatis," or Garden of Health,
+whose author was J. Cuba. There were also translations from other
+Arabian authors on medicine in addition to Avicenna, notably a
+translation of Rhazes Abu Bekr Muhammed Ben Zankariah Abrazi, a
+distinguished writer among the Arabian physicians of the Middle Ages.
+</p>
+<p>
+Linacre's translations of Galen remain still the <a name="95">{95}</a> standard, and
+they have been reprinted many times. As Erasmus once wrote to a
+friend, in sending some of these books of Galen, "I present you with
+the works of Galen, now by the help of Linacre speaking better Latin
+than they ever before spoke Greek." Linacre also translated Aristotle
+into Latin, and Erasmus paid them the high compliment of saying that
+Linacre's Latin was as lucid, as straightforward, and as thoroughly
+intelligible as was Aristotle's Greek. Of the translations of
+Aristotle unfortunately none is extant. Of Galen we have the "De
+Sanitate Tuenda," the "Methodus Medendi," the "De Symptomatum
+Differentiis et Causis," and the "De Pulsuum Usu." The latter
+particularly is a noteworthy monograph on an important subject, in
+which Galen's observations were of great value. Under the title, "The
+Significance of the Pulse," it has been translated into English, and
+has influenced many generations of English medical men.
+</p>
+<p>
+While we have very few remains of Linacre's work as a physician, there
+seems to be no doubt that he was considered by all those best capable
+of judging, to stand at the head of his profession in England. To his
+care, as one of his biographers remarked, was committed the health of
+the foremost in Church and State. Besides being the Royal Physician,
+he was the regular medical attendant of Cardinal Wolsey, of Archbishop
+Warham, the Primate of England, of Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester,
+the Keeper <a name="96">{96}</a> of the Privy Seal, and of Sir Reginald Bray, Knight of
+the Garter and Lord High Treasurer, and of all of the famous scholars
+of England.
+</p>
+<p>
+Erasmus, whilst absent in France, writes to give him an account of his
+feelings, and begs him to prescribe for him, as he knows no one else
+to whom he can turn with equal confidence. After a voyage across the
+channel, during which he had been four days at sea--making a passage
+by the way that now takes less than two hours--Erasmus describes his
+condition, his headache, with the glands behind his ears swollen, his
+temples throbbing, a constant buzzing in his ears; and laments that no
+Linacre was at hand to restore him to health by skilful advice. In a
+subsequent letter he writes from Paris to ask for a copy of a
+prescription given him while in London by Linacre, but which a stupid
+servant had left at the apothecary shop, so that Erasmus could not
+have it filled in Paris.
+</p>
+<p>
+An instance of his skill in prognosis, the most difficult part of the
+practice of medicine according to Hippocrates and all subsequent
+authorities, is cited by all his biographers, with regard to his
+friend William Lily, the grammarian. Lily was suffering from a
+malignant tumor involving the hip, which surgeons in consultation had
+decided should be removed. Linacre plainly foretold that its removal
+would surely prove fatal, and the event verified his unfavorable
+prognosis. Generally it seems to have been considered that his opinion
+was of great value in all <a name="97">{97}</a> serious matters, and it was eagerly
+sought for. Some of the nobility and clergy of the time came even from
+the Continent over to England by no means an easy journey, even for a
+healthy man in those days, as can be appreciated from Erasmus's
+experience just cited--in order to obtain Linacre's opinion.
+</p>
+<p>
+One of Erasmus's letters to Billibaldus Pirckheimer contains a
+particular account of the method of treatment by which he was relieved
+of his severe pain under Linacre's direction in a very tormenting
+attack of renal colic. The details, especially the use of poultice
+applications as hot as could be borne, show that Linacre thoroughly
+understood the use of heat in the relaxation of spasm, while his
+careful preparation of the remedies to be employed in the presence of
+the patient himself would seem to show that he had a very high
+appreciation of how much the mental state of the patient and the
+attitude of expectancy thus awakened may have in giving relief even in
+cases of severe pain.
+</p>
+<p>
+The only medical writings of Linacre's that we possess are
+translations. We have said already that the reversion at the end of
+the fifteenth century to the classical authorities in medicine
+undoubtedly did much to introduce the observant phase of medical
+science, which had its highest expression in Vesalius at the beginning
+of the sixteenth century and continued to flourish so fruitfully
+during the next two centuries at most of the Italian universities. His
+translations then <a name="98">{98}</a> were of themselves more suggestive
+contributions to medicine than would perhaps have been any even of his
+original observations, since the mind of his generation was not ready
+as yet to be influenced by discoveries made by contemporaries.
+</p>
+<p>
+The best proof of Linacre's great practical interest in medicine is
+his realization of the need for the Royal College of Physicians and
+his arrangements for it.
+</p>
+<p>
+The Roll of the College, which comprises biographical sketches of all
+the eminent physicians whose names are recorded in the annals from the
+foundation of the College in 1518, and is published under the
+authority of the College itself, contains the best tribute to
+Linacre's work that can possibly be paid. It says: "The most
+magnificent of Linacre's labors was the design of the Royal College of
+Physicians of London--a standing monument of the enlightened views
+and generosity of its projectors. In the execution of it Linacre stood
+alone, for the munificence of the Crown was limited to a grant of
+letters patent; whilst the expenses and provision of the College was
+left to be defrayed out of his own means, or of those who were
+associated with him in its foundation." "In the year 1518," says Dr.
+Johnson, [Footnote 8] "when Linacre's scheme was carried into effect,
+the practice of medicine was scarcely elevated above that of the
+mechanical arts, nor was the majority of its practitioners <a name="99">{99}</a> among
+the laity better instructed than the mechanics by whom these arts were
+exercised. With the diffusion of learning to the republics and states
+of Italy, establishments solely for the advancement of science had
+been formed with success; but no society devoted to the interests of
+learning yet existed in England, unfettered by a union with the
+hierarchy, or exempted from the rigors and seclusions which were
+imposed upon its members as the necessary obligation of a monastic and
+religious life. In reflecting on the advantages which had been derived
+from these institutions, Linacre did not forget the impossibility of
+adapting rules and regulations which accorded with the state of
+society in the Middle Ages to the improved state of learning in his
+own, and his plans were avowedly modelled on some similar community of
+which many cities of Italy afforded rather striking examples."
+</p>
+<p class="footnote">
+  [Footnote 8: <i>Life of Linacre</i>, London, 1835.]
+</p>
+<p>
+Some idea of the state into which the practice of medicine had fallen
+in England before Linacre's foundation of the Royal College of
+Physicians may be gathered from the words of the charter of the
+College. "Before this period a great multitude of ignorant persons, of
+whom the greater part had no insight into physic, nor into any other
+kind of learning--some could not even read the letters on the book, so
+far forth that common artificers as smiths, weavers and women--boldly
+and accustomably took upon them great cures to the high displeasure of
+God, great infamy to the faculty, and the grievous hurt, <a name="100">{100}</a> damage,
+and destruction of many of the King's liege people."
+</p>
+<p>
+After the foundation of the College there was a definite way of
+deciding formally who were, or were not, legally licensed to practise.
+As a consequence, when serious malpractice came to public notice,
+those without a license were occasionally treated in the most summary
+manner. Stowe, in his chronicles, gives a very vivid and picturesque
+description of the treatment of one of these quacks who had been
+especially flagrant in his imposition upon the people. A counterfeit
+doctor was set on horseback, his face to the horse's tail, the tail
+being forced into his hand as a bridle, a collar of jordans about his
+neck, a whetstone on his breast, and so led through the city of London
+with ringing of basins, and banished. "Such deceivers," continued the
+old chronicler, "no doubt are many, who being never trained up in
+reading or practice of physics and Chirurgery do boast to do great
+cures, especially upon women, as to make them straight that before
+were crooked, corbed, or crumped in any part of their bodies and other
+such things. But the contrary is true. For some have received gold
+when they have better deserved the whetstone." [Footnote 9] Human
+nature has not changed very much in the <a name="101">{101}</a> four centuries since
+Linacre's foundation, and while the model that he set in the matter of
+providing a proper licensing body for physicians has done something to
+lessen the evils complained of, the abuses still remain; and the old
+chronicler will find in our time not a few who, in his opinion, might
+deserve the whetstone. We can scarcely realize how much Linacre
+accomplished by means of the Royal College of Physicians, or how great
+was the organizing spirit of the man to enable him to recognize the
+best way out of the chaos of medical practice in his time.
+</p>
+<p class="footnote">
+  [Footnote 9: "To get the whetstone" is an old English expression,
+  meaning to take the prize for lying. It is derived from the old
+  custom of driving rogues, whose wits were too sharp, out of town
+  with a whetstone around their necks.]
+</p>
+<p>
+"The wisdom of Linacre's plan," wrote Dr. Friend, "speaks for itself.
+His scheme, without doubt, was not only to create a good understanding
+and unanimity among his own profession (which of itself was an
+excellent thought), but to make them more useful to the public. And he
+imagined that by separating them from the vulgar empirics and setting
+them upon such a reputable foot of distinction, there would always
+arise a spirit of emulation among men liberally educated, which would
+animate them in pursuing their inquiries into the nature of diseases
+and the methods of cure for the benefit of mankind; and perhaps no
+founder ever had the good fortune to have his designs succeed more to
+his wish."
+</p>
+<p>
+His plans with regard to the teaching of medicine at the two great
+English Universities did not succeed so well, but that was the fault
+not of Linacre nor of the directions left in his will, but <a name="102">{102}</a> of
+the times, which were awry for educational matters. Notwithstanding
+Linacre's bequest of funds for two professorships at Oxford and one at
+Cambridge, it is typical of the times that the chairs were not founded
+for many years. During Henry VIII's time, the great effort of
+government was not to encourage new foundations but to break up old
+ones, in order to obtain money for the royal treasury, so that
+educational institutions of all kinds suffered eclipse. The first
+formal action with regard to the Linacre bequest was taken in the
+third year of Edward VI. Two lectureships were established in Merton
+College, Oxford, and one in St. John's College, Cambridge. Linacre's
+idea had been that these foundations should be University
+lectureships, but Anthony Wood says that the University had lost in
+prestige so much during Henry VIII's time that it was considered
+preferable to attach the lectureships to Merton College, which had
+considerable reputation because of its medical school. During
+Elizabeth's time these Linacre lectureships sank to be sinecures and
+for nearly a hundred years served but for the support of a fellowship.
+The Oxford foundation was revived in 1856 by the University
+Commissioners, and the present splendid foundation of the lectures in
+physiology bears Linacre's name in honor of his original grant.
+</p>
+<p>
+At the age of about fifty Linacre was ordained priest. His idea in
+becoming a clergyman, as confessed in letters to his friends, was
+partly in <a name="103">{103}</a> order to obtain leisure for his favorite studies, but
+also out of the desire to give himself up to something other than the
+mere worldly pursuits in which he had been occupied during all his
+previous life. His biographer, Dr. Johnson, says: "In examining the
+motives of this choice of Linacre's, it would seem that he was guided
+less by the expectation of dignity and preferment than by the desire
+of retirement and of rendering himself acquainted with those writings
+which might afford him consolation in old age and relief from the
+infirmities which a life of assiduous study and application had tended
+to produce."
+</p>
+<p>
+The precise time of Linacre's ordination is not known, nor is it
+certain whether he was ordained by Archbishop Warham of Canterbury, or
+by Cardinal Wolsey, the Archbishop of York. He received his first
+clerical appointment from Warham, by whom he was collated to the
+rectory of Mersham in Kent. He held this place scarcely a month, but
+his resignation was followed by his installation as prebend in the
+Cathedral of Wells, and by an admission to the Church of Hawkhurst in
+Kent, which he held until the year of his death. Seven years later he
+was made prebend in the Collegiate Chapel of St. Stephen, Westminster,
+and in the following year he became prebendary of South Newbold in the
+Church of York. This was in the year 1518. In the following year he
+received the dignified and lucrative appointment of presenter to the
+Cathedral of York, for which he was indebted to Cardinal Wolsey, to
+whom <a name="104">{104}</a> about this time he dedicated his translation of Galen "On
+the Use of the Pulse." He seems also to have held several other
+benefices during the later years of his life, although some of them
+were resigned within so short a time as to make it difficult to
+understand why he should have accepted them, since the expenses of
+institution must have exceeded the profits which were derived from
+them during the period of possession. Linacre owed his clerical
+opportunities during the last years of his life particularly to
+Archbishop Warham, who, as ambassador, primate, and chancellor,
+occupied a large and honorable place in the history of the times.
+Erasmus says of him in one of his letters: "Such were his vigilance
+and attention in all matters relating to religion and to the offices
+of the Church that no concern which was foreign to them seemed ever to
+distract him. He had sufficient time for a scrupulous performance of
+the accustomed exercises of prayer, for the almost daily celebration
+of the Mass, for twice or thrice hearing divine service, for
+determining suits, for receiving embassies, for consultation with the
+king when matters of moment required his presence, for the visitation
+of churches when regulation was needed, for the welcome of frequently
+two hundred guests, and lastly for a literary leisure."
+</p>
+<p>
+As the close friend of such men, it is evident that Linacre must have
+accomplished much good as a clergyman; and it seems not unlikely that
+his frequent changes of rectorship were rather <a name="105">{105}</a> due to the fact
+that the Primate wished to make use of his influence in various parts
+of his diocese for the benefit of religion than for any personal
+motives on Linacre's part, who, in order to enter the service of the
+Church, had given up so much more than he could expect as a clergyman.
+</p>
+<p>
+Linacre as a clergyman continued to deserve the goodwill and esteem of
+all his former friends, and seems to have made many new ones. At the
+time of his death he was one of the most honored individuals in
+England. All of his biographers are agreed in stating that he was the
+representative Englishman of his time, looked up to by all his
+contemporaries, respected and admired by those who had not the
+opportunity of his intimate acquaintance, and heartily loved by
+friends, who were themselves some of the best men of the time.
+</p>
+<p>
+The concluding paragraph of the appreciation of Linacre's character in
+<i>Lives of British Physicians</i> [Footnote 10] is as follows: "To sum up
+his character it was said of him that no Englishman of his day had had
+such famous masters, namely, Demetrius and Politian of Florence; such
+noble patrons, Lorenzo de' Medici, Henry VII and Henry VIII; such
+high-born scholars, the Prince Arthur and Princess Mary of England; or
+such learned friends, for amongst the latter were to be enumerated
+Erasmus, Melanchthon, Latimer, <a name="106">{106}</a> Tonstal, and Sir Thomas More."
+His biographer might have added the names of others of the
+pre-Reformation period, men of culture and character whose merits only
+the historical researches of recent years have brought out--Prior
+Selling, Dean Colet (though his friendship was unfortunately
+interrupted), Archbishop Warham, Cardinal Wolsey, Grocyn, and further
+scholars and churchmen.
+</p>
+<p class="footnote">
+  [Footnote 10: London. John Murray, 1830.]
+</p>
+<p>
+Dr. J. F. Payne, in summing up the opinion of Linacre held by his
+contemporaries, in the "Dictionary of National Biography" (British),
+pays a high tribute to the man. "Linacre's personal character was
+highly esteemed by his contemporaries. He was evidently capable of
+absolute devotion to a great cause, animated by genuine public spirit
+and a boundless zeal for learning." Erasmus sketches him humorously in
+the "Encomium Moriae" (The Praise of Foolishness)--with a play on the
+word <i>Moriae</i> in reference to his great friend, Thomas More, of whom
+Erasmus thought so much--showing him a tireless student. The
+distinguished foreign scholar, however, considered Linacre as an
+enthusiast in recondite studies, but no mere pedant. Dr. Payne closes
+his appreciation with these words: "Linacre had, it would seem, no
+enemies."
+</p>
+<p>
+Caius, the distinguished English physician and scholar, himself one of
+the best known members of the Royal College of Physicians and the
+founder of Caius College, Cambridge, sketches <a name="107">{107}</a> Linacre's
+character (he had as a young man known him personally) in very
+sympathetic vein. As Dr. Caius was one of the greatest Englishmen of
+his time in the middle of the sixteenth century, his opinion must
+carry great weight. It is to him that we owe the famous epitaph that
+for long in old St. Paul's, London, was to be read on Linacre's
+tombstone:--
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  "<i>Fraudes dolosque mire perosus, fidus amicis, omnibus ordinibus
+  juxta carus</i>. A stern hater of deceit and underhand ways, faithful
+  to his friends, equally dear to all classes,"
+</p>
+<p>
+Surely this is a worthy tribute to the great physician, clergyman,
+scholar, and philanthropist of the eve of the Reformation in England.
+</p>
+
+<a name="108">{108}</a>
+<br>
+
+<h2>V.
+<br><br>
+FATHER KIRCHER, S.J.:
+<br>
+SCIENTIST, ORIENTALIST, AND COLLECTOR.</h2>
+<br>
+<a name="109">{109}</a>
+<p>
+Oportet autem neque recentiores viros in his fraudare quae vel
+repererunt vel recte secuti sunt; et tamen ea quae apud antiquiores
+aliquos posita sunt auctoribus suis reddere.--CELSUS <i>de Medicina</i>.
+</p>
+
+<a name="110">{110}</a>
+<p align=center>
+<img style="width: 367px; height: 470px;" alt=""
+     src="images/110p.jpg" border=1>
+<br>
+ATHANASIUS KIRCHER
+</p>
+<br>
+<a name="111">{111}</a>
+<br>
+
+<h2>V.
+<br><br>
+FATHER KIRCHER, S.J.: SCIENTIST, ORIENTALIST, AND COLLECTOR.</h2>
+
+<p>
+Except in the minds of the unconquerably intolerant, the Galileo
+controversy has in recent years settled down to occupy something of
+its proper place in the history of the supposed conflict between
+religion and science. In touching the subject in the life of
+Copernicus we suggested that it has come to be generally recognized,
+as M. Bertrand, the perpetual Secretary of the Paris Academy of
+Sciences, himself a distinguished mathematician and historian,
+declares, that "the great lesson for those who would wish to oppose
+reason with violence was clearly to be read in Galileo's story, and
+the scandal of his condemnation was learned without any profound
+sorrow to Galileo himself; and his long life, considered as a whole,
+was the most serene and enviable in the history of science." Somehow,
+notwithstanding the directness of this declaration, there is still
+left in the minds of many an impression rather difficult to eradicate
+that there was definite, persistent opposition to everything
+associated with scientific progress among the churchmen of the time of
+Galileo.
+</p>
+<p>
+Perhaps no better answer to this unfortunate, because absolutely
+untrue, impression could be in <a name="112">{112}</a> formulated than is to be found in
+a sketch of the career of Father Athanasius Kircher, the distinguished
+Jesuit who for so many years occupied himself with nearly every branch
+of science in Rome, under the fostering care of the Church. He had
+been Professor of Physics, Mathematics, and Oriental Languages at
+Würzburg, but was driven from there by the disturbances incident to
+the Thirty Years' War, in 1631. He continued his scientific
+investigation at Avignon. From here, within two years after Galileo's
+trial in 1635, he was, through the influence of Cardinal Barberini,
+summoned to Rome, where he devoted himself to mathematics at first,
+and then to every branch of science, as well as the Oriental
+languages, not only with the approval, but also with the most liberal
+pecuniary aid from the ecclesiastical authorities of the papal court
+and city.
+</p>
+<p>
+Some idea of the breadth of Father Kircher's scientific sympathy and
+his genius for scientific observation and discovery, which amounted
+almost to intuition, may be gathered from the fact that to him we owe
+the first definite statement of the germ theory of disease; and he
+seems to have been the first to recognize the presence of what are now
+called microbes. At the same time his works on magnetism contained not
+only all the knowledge of his own time, but also some wonderful
+suggestions as to the possibilities of the development of this
+science. His studies with regard to light are almost as epochal as
+those with regard to magnetism. Besides these, he <a name="113">{113}</a> was the first
+to find any clue to the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and yet found time to
+write a geographical work on Latium, the country surrounding Rome, and
+to make collections for his museum which rendered it in its time the
+best scientific collection in the world. It may very well indeed be
+said that visitors to Rome with scientific tendencies found as much
+that was suggestive in Father Kircher's museum--the "Kircherianum," as
+it came to be called--as artists and sculptors and architects found in
+the Vatican collections of the papal city.
+</p>
+<p>
+All of this work was accomplished within the half century after
+Galileo's trial, for Father Kircher died in 1680, at the age of
+seventy-eight, having lived, as so many of the great scientists have
+done, a long life in the midst of the most persistent activity.
+Kircher, more than perhaps any other, can be said to be the founder of
+modern natural science. Before any one else, in a practical way, he
+realized the necessity for the collection of an immense amount of
+data, if science was to be founded on the broad, firm foundation of
+observed truth. The principle which had been announced by Bacon in the
+"Novum Organon"--"to take all that comes rather than to choose, and to
+heap up rather than to register"--was never carried out as fully as by
+Father Kircher. As Edmund Gosse said in the June number of <i>Harper's</i>,
+1904, "Bacon had started a great idea, but he had not carried it out.
+He is not the founder, he is the prophet <a name="114">{114}</a> of modern physical
+science. To be in direct touch with nature, to adventure in the
+unexplored fields of knowledge, and to do this by carrying out an
+endless course of slow and sure experiments, this was the counsel of
+the 'Novum Organon.'" Bacon died in 1626, and scarcely more than a
+decade had passed before Kircher was carrying out the work thus
+outlined by the English philosopher in a way that was surprisingly
+successful, even looked at from the standpoint of our modern science.
+Needless to say, however, it was not because of Bacon's suggestion
+that he did so, for it is more than doubtful whether he knew of
+Bacon's writings until long after the lines of his life-work had been
+traced by his own inquiring spirit. The fulness of time had come. The
+inductive philosophy was in the air. Bacon's formulae, which the
+English philosopher never practically applied, and Father Kircher's
+assiduous collection of data, were but expressions of the spirit of
+the times. How faithfully the work of the first modern inductive
+scientist was accomplished we shall see.
+</p>
+<p>
+It may be easily imagined that a certain interest in Father Kircher,
+apart from his scientific attainments and the desire to show how much
+and how successful was the attention given to natural science by
+churchmen about the time of the Galileo controversy, might influence
+this judgment of the distinguished Jesuit's scientific accomplishments.
+With regard to his discoveries in medicine especially, and above all
+his <a name="115">{115}</a> announcement of the microbic origin of contagious disease,
+it may be thought that this was a mere chance expression and not at
+all the result of serious scientific conclusions. Tyndall, however,
+the distinguished English physicist, would not be the one to give
+credit for scientific discoveries, and to a clergyman in a distant
+century, unless there was definite evidence of the discovery. It is
+not generally known that to the great English physicist we owe the
+almost absolute demonstration of the impossibility of spontaneous
+generation, together with a series of studies showing the existence
+everywhere in the atmosphere of minute forms of life to which
+fermentative changes and also the infectious diseases--though at that
+time this was only a probability--are to be attributed. When Tyndall
+was reviewing, in the midst of the controversy over spontaneous
+generation, the question of the microbic origin of disease, he said:
+"Side by side with many other theories has run the germ theory of
+epidemic disease. The notion was expressed by Kircher and favored by
+Linnaeus, that epidemic diseases may be due to germs which enter the
+body and produce disturbance by the development within the body of
+parasitic forms of life."
+</p>
+<p>
+How much attention Father Kircher's book on the pest or plague, in
+which his theory of the micro-organismal origin of disease is put
+forward, attracted from the medical profession can be understood from
+the fact that it was submitted to three of the most distinguished
+physicians in <a name="116">{116}</a> Rome before being printed, and that their
+testimony to its value as a contribution to medicine prefaced the
+first edition. They are not sparing in their praise of it. Dr. Joseph
+Benedict Sinibaldus, who was the Professor of the Practice of Medicine
+in the Roman University at the time, says that "Father Kircher's book
+not only contains an excellent resume of all that is known about the
+pest or plague, but also as many valuable hints and suggestions on the
+origin and spread of the disease, which had never before been made."
+He considers it a very wonderful thing that a non-medical man should
+have been able to place himself so thoroughly in touch with the
+present state of medicine in respect to this disease and then point
+out the conditions of future progress.
+</p>
+<p>
+Dr. Paul Zachias, who was a distinguished Roman physician of the time,
+said that he had long known Father Kircher as an eminent writer on
+other subjects, but that after reading his book on the pest he must
+consider him also distinguished in medical writing. He says: "While he
+has set his hand at other's harvests, he has done it with so much
+wisdom and prudence as to win the admiration of the harvesters already
+in the field." He adds that there can be no doubt that it would be a
+source of profit for medical men to read this little book and that it
+will undoubtedly prove beneficial to future generations. Testimony of
+another kind to the value of Father Kircher's book is to be found in
+the fact <a name="117">{117}</a> that within a half-year after its publication in Latin
+it appeared in several other languages. It is too much the custom of
+these modern times to consider that scientific progress in the
+centuries before our own and its immediate predecessor was likely to
+attract little attention for many years, and was especially slow to
+make its way into foreign countries. Anything, however, of real
+importance in science took but a very short time to travel from one
+country to another in Europe in the seventeenth century, and the fact
+that scientific men generally used Latin as a common language made the
+spread of discoveries and speculations much easier even than at the
+present time. Our increased means of communication have really only
+served to allow sensational announcements of a progress in
+science--which is usually no progress at all--to be spread quite as
+effectually in modern times as were real advances in the older days.
+</p>
+<p>
+There is no good account of Father Kircher's life available in
+English, and it has seemed only proper that the more important at
+least of the details of the life of the man who thus anticipated the
+beginnings of modern bacteriology and of the relations of
+micro-organisms to disease, should not be left in obscurity. His life
+history is all the more interesting and important because it
+illustrates the interest of the churchmen of the time, and especially
+of the Roman ecclesiastical authorities, in all forms of science; for
+Father Kircher is undoubtedly one of the greatest scholars of <a name="118">{118}</a>
+history and one of the scientific geniuses in whose works can be
+found, as the result of some wonderful principles of intuition
+incomprehensible to the slower intellectual operations of ordinary
+men, anticipations of many of the discoveries of the after-time. There
+is scarcely a modern science he did not touch upon, and nothing that
+he touched did he fail to illuminate. His magnificent collections in
+the museum of the Roman College demonstrate very well his extremely
+wide interests in all scientific matters.
+</p>
+<p>
+The history of Father Kircher's career furnishes perhaps the best
+possible refutation of the oft-repeated slander that Jesuit education
+was narrow and was so founded upon and rooted in authority that
+original research and investigation, in scientific matters
+particularly, were impossible, and that it utterly failed to encourage
+new discoveries of any kind. As a matter of fact, Kircher was not only
+not hampered in his work by his superiors or by the ecclesiastical
+authorities, but the respect in which he was held at Rome enabled him
+to use the influence of the Church and of great churchmen all over the
+world, with the best possible effect, for the assembling at the Roman
+College of objects of the most various kinds, illustrating especially
+the modern sciences of archeology, ethnology, and paleontology,
+besides Egyptian and Assyrian history.
+</p>
+<p>
+Athanasius Kircher was born 2 May, 1602, at Geisa, near Fulda, in
+South Germany. He was educated at the Jesuit College of Fulda, and at
+<a name="119">{119}</a> the early age of sixteen, having completed his college course,
+entered the Jesuit novitiate at Mainz. After his novitiate he
+continued his philosophical and classical studies at Paderborn and
+completed his years of scholastic teaching in various cities of South
+Germany--Munster, Cologne, and Coblenz--finally finishing his
+education by theological studies at Cologne and Mainz.
+</p>
+<p>
+Toward the end of the third decade of the seventeenth century he
+became Professor of Philosophy and Mathematics at Würzburg. Here his
+interest in Oriental languages began, and he established a special
+course in this subject at the University of Würzburg. During the
+Thirty Years' War, however, the invasion of Germany very seriously
+disturbed university work, and finally in 1631 Father Kircher was sent
+by his superiors to Avignon in South France, where he continued his
+teaching some four years, attracting no little attention by his wide
+interest in many sciences and by various scientific works that showed
+him to be a man of very broad genius.
+</p>
+<p>
+In 1635, through the influence of Cardinal Barberini, he was summoned
+to Rome, where he became Professor of Mathematics and Oriental
+Languages in the famous Roman College of the Jesuits, which was
+considered at that time one of the greatest educational institutions
+in the world. His interest in science, however, was not lessened by
+teaching duties that would apparently have demanded all his time; and,
+as we shall see, he continued to issue books on the most diverse <a name="120">{120}</a>
+scientific subjects, most of them illustrated by absolutely new
+experimental observations and all of them attracting widespread
+attention.
+</p>
+<p>
+Father Kircher began his career as a writer on science at the early
+age of twenty-seven, when he issued his first work on magnetism. The
+title of this volume, "Ars Magnesia tum Theorematice tum Problematice
+Proposita," shows that the subject was not treated entirely from a
+speculative standpoint. Indeed, in the preface he states that he hopes
+that the principal value of the book will be found in the fact that
+the knowledge of magnetism is presented by a new method, with special
+demonstrations, and that the conclusions are confirmed by various
+practical uses and long-continued experience with magnets of various
+kinds.
+</p>
+<p>
+Although it may be a source of great surprise, Father Kircher's genius
+was essentially experimental. He has been spoken of not infrequently
+as a man who collected the scientific information of his time in such
+a way as to display, as says the <i>Encyclopedia Britannica</i>, "a wide
+and varied learning, but that he was a man singularly devoid of
+judgment and critical discernment." He was in some respects the direct
+opposite of the opinion thus expressed, since his learning was always
+of a practical character, and there are very few subjects in this
+writing which he has not himself illustrated by means of new and
+ingenious experiments.
+</p>
+<p>
+Perhaps the best possible proof of this is to be <a name="121">{121}</a> found in the
+fact that his second scientific work was on the construction of
+sun-dials, and that one of the discoveries he himself considered most
+valuable was the invention of a calculating machine, as well as of a
+complicated arrangement for illustrating the positions of the stars in
+the heavens. He constructed, moreover, a large burning-glass in order
+to demonstrate the possibility of the story told of Archimedes, that
+he had succeeded in burning the enemy's ships in the harbor at
+Syracuse by means of a large lens.
+</p>
+<p>
+But Father Kircher's surest claim to being a practical genius is to be
+found in his invention of the magic lantern. It was another Jesuit,
+Aquilonius, in his work on optics, issued in 1613, who had first
+sought to explain how the two pictures presented to the two eyes are
+fused into one, and it was in a practical demonstration of this by
+means of lenses that Kircher hit upon the invention of the projecting
+stereoscope.
+</p>
+<p>
+After his call to Rome our subject continued his work on magnetism,
+and in 1641 issued a further treatise on the subject called "Magnes"
+or "De Arte Magnetica." While he continued to teach Oriental languages
+and issued in 1644 a book with the title "Lingua AEgyptiaca
+Restituta," he also continued to apply himself especially to the
+development of physical science. Accordingly in 1645 there appeared
+his volume "Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae." This was a treatise on light,
+illustrated, as was his treatise on magnetism, by many original
+experiments and demonstrations.
+</p>
+<a name="122">{122}</a>
+<p>
+During the five years until 1650 the department of acoustics came
+under his consideration, so that in that year we have from his pen a
+treatise called "Musurgia Universalis," with the subtitle, "The Art of
+Harmony and Discord; a treatise on the whole doctrine of sound with
+the philosophy of music treated from the standpoint of practical as
+well as theoretic science." During the next five years astronomy was
+his special hobby, and the result was in 1656 a treatise on astronomy
+called "Iter Celeste." This contained a description of the earth and
+the heavens and discussed the nature of the fixed and moving stars,
+with various considerations as to the composition and structure of
+these bodies. A second volume on this subject appeared in 1660.
+</p>
+<p>
+The variety of Father Kircher's interests in science was not yet
+exhausted, however. Five years after the completion of his two volumes
+on astronomy there came one on "Mundus Subterraneus." This treated of
+the modern subjects of geology, metallurgy, and mineralogy, as well as
+the chemistry of minerals. It also contained a treatise on animals
+that live under the ground, and on insects. This was considered one of
+the author's greatest books, and the whole of it was translated into
+French, whilst abstracts from it, especially the chapters on poisons,
+appeared in most of the other languages of Europe. Part of it was
+translated even into English, though seventeenth-century Englishmen
+were loath to draw their inspiration from Jesuit writers.
+</p>
+<a name="123">{123}</a>
+<p>
+Jesuits were, however, at this time generally acknowledged on the
+Continent to be leaders in every department of thought, sympathetic
+coadjutors in every step in scientific progress. Strange as it may
+appear to those who will not understand the Jesuit spirit of love for
+learning, two of the most distinguished scientists whose names are
+immortal in the history of physical sciences in different departments
+during this century, Kepler and Harvey, were on intimate terms of
+friendship with the Jesuits of Germany. Harvey, on the occasion of a
+visit to the Continent, stopped for a prolonged visit with the Jesuits
+at Cologne, so that some of his English friends joked him about the
+possibility of his making converts of the Jesuits. These witticisms,
+however, did not seem to distract Harvey very much, for he returned on
+a subsequent occasion to spend some further days with his Jesuit
+scientific friends along the Rhine.
+</p>
+<p>
+In the meantime Father Kircher was issuing notable books on his always
+favorite subject of the Oriental languages. In 1650 there appeared
+"Obeliscus Pamphilius," containing an explanation of the hieroglyphics
+to be found on the obelisk which by the order of Innocent X, a member
+of the Pamfili family, was placed in the Piazza Navona by Bernini.
+This is no mere pamphlet, as might be thought, but a book of 560
+pages. In 1652 there appeared "OEdipus AEgyptiacus," that is, the
+revealer of the sphinx-like riddle of the Egyptian ancient languages.
+In 1653 a second volume of this appeared, and in 1655 a third <a name="124">{124}</a>
+volume. It was considered so important that it was translated into
+Russian and other Slav languages, besides several other European
+languages. His book, "Lingua AEgyptiaca Restituta," which appeared in
+1644, when Kircher was forty-two years of age, is considered to be of
+value yet in the study of Oriental languages, and was dedicated to the
+patron, Emperor Ferdinand III, whose liberality made its publication
+possible.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is often a subject for conjecture just how science was studied and
+taught in centuries before the nineteenth, and just what text-books
+were employed. A little familiarity with Father Kircher's
+publications, however, will show that there was plenty of very
+suitable material for text-books to be found in his works. Under his
+own direction, what at the present time would be called a text-book of
+physics, but which at that time was called "Physiologia
+Experimentalis," was issued, containing all the experimental and
+demonstrative parts of his various books on chemistry, physics, music,
+magnetism, and mechanics, as well as acoustics and optics. This formed
+the groundwork of most text-books of science for a full century
+afterwards. Indeed, until the beginning of the distinctly modern
+science of chemistry with the discoveries of Priestley and Lavoisier,
+there was to be little added of serious import in science.
+</p>
+<p>
+Perhaps the most commendable feature of Father Kircher's books is the
+fact that he himself seems never to have considered that he had <a name="125">{125}</a>
+exhausted a subject. The first work he published was on magnetism.
+Some twelve years later he returned to the subject, and wrote a more
+extensive work, containing many improvements over the first volume.
+The same thing is true of his studies in sound. In 1650, when not
+quite fifty years of age, he issued his "Musurgia Universalis," a
+sub-title of which stated that it contains the whole doctrine of sound
+and the practical and theoretical philosophy of music. A little over
+twenty years later, however, he published the "Phonurgia Nova," the
+sub-title of which showed that it was mainly concerned with the
+experimental demonstration of various truths in acoustics and with the
+development of the doctrine he had originally stated in the
+"Musurgia."
+</p>
+<p>
+It is no wonder that his contemporaries spoke of him as the <i>Doctor
+centum artium</i>--the teacher of a hundred arts--for there was
+practically no branch of scientific knowledge in his time in which he
+was not expert. Scientific visitors to Rome always considered it one
+of the privileges of their stay in the papal city to have the
+opportunity to meet Father Kircher, and it was thought a very great
+honor to be shown through his museum by himself.
+</p>
+<p>
+Of course, it is difficult for present-day scientists to imagine a man
+exhausting the whole round of science in this way. Many who have read
+but little more than the titles of Father Kircher's many books are
+accordingly prone to speak of him as a mine of information, but
+without any <a name="126">{126}</a> proper critical judgment. He has succeeded,
+according to them, in heaping together an immense amount of
+information, but it is of the most disparate value. There is no doubt
+that he took account of many things in science that are manifestly
+absurd. Astrology, for instance, had not, in his time, gone out of
+fashion entirely, and he refers many events in men's lives to the
+influence of the stars. He even made rules for astrological
+predictions, and his astronomical machine for exhibiting the motions
+of the stars was also meant to be helpful in the construction of
+astrological tables. It must not be forgotten, however, that in his
+time the best astronomers, like Tycho Brahe and even Kepler, had not
+entirely given up the idea of the influence of the stars over man's
+destiny.
+</p>
+<p>
+As regards other sciences, there are details of information that may
+appear quite as superstitious as the belief in astrology. Kircher, for
+instance, accepted the idea of the possibility of the transmutation of
+metals. It is to be said, though, that all mankind were convinced of
+this possibility, and indeed not entirely without reason. All during
+the nineteenth century scientists believed very firmly in the absolute
+independence of chemical elements and their utter
+non-interchangeability. As the result of recent discoveries, however,
+in which one element has apparently been observed giving rise to
+another, much of this doctrine has come to be considered as
+improbable, and now the idea of possible transmutation of <a name="127">{127}</a> metals
+and other chemical elements into one another appears not so absurd as
+it was half a century ago.
+</p>
+<p>
+Any one who will take up a text-book of science of a century ago will
+find in it many glaring absurdities. It will seem almost impossible
+that a scientific thinker, in his right senses, could have accepted
+some of the propositions that are calmly set down as absolute truths.
+Every generation has made itself ridiculous by knowing many things
+"that are not so," and even ours is no exception. Father Kircher was
+not outside this rule, though he was ahead of his generation in the
+critical faculty that enabled him to eliminate many falsities and to
+illuminate half-truths in the science of his day.
+</p>
+<p>
+Undoubtedly the most interesting of Father Kircher's scientific books
+is his work On the Pest, with some considerations on its origin, mode
+of distribution, and treatment, which about the middle of the
+seventeenth century gathered together all the medical theories of the
+times as to the causation of contagious disease, discussed them with
+critical judgment and reached conclusions which anticipate much of
+what is most modern in our present-day medicine. It is this work of
+Father Kircher's that is now most often referred to, and very
+deservedly so, because it is one of the classics which represents a
+landmark in knowledge for all time. It merits a place beside such
+books as Harvey on the Circulation of Blood, or even Vesalius on Human
+<a name="128">{128}</a> Anatomy. As we have seen, it is now quoted from by our best
+recent authorities who attempt seriously to trace the history of the
+microbic theory of disease, and its conclusions are the result of
+logical processes and not the mere chance lighting upon truth of a
+mind that had the theories of the time before it. In it Father
+Kircher's genius is best exhibited. It has the faults of his too ready
+credibility; and his desire to discuss all possible phases of the
+question, even those which are now manifestly absurd, has led him into
+what prove to be useless digressions. But on the whole it represents
+very well the first great example of the application of the principle
+of inductive science to modern medicine. All the known facts and
+observations are collected and discussed, and then the conclusions are
+suggested.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is very interesting to trace the development of Father Kircher's
+ideas with regard to the origin, causation, and communication of
+disease, because in many points he so clearly anticipates medical
+knowledge that has only come to be definitely accepted in very recent
+times. It has often been pointed out that Sir Robert Boyle declared
+that the processes of fermentation and those which brought about
+infectious disease, were probably of similar nature, and that the
+scientist who solved the problem of the cause of fermentation would
+throw great light on the origin of these diseases. This prophetic
+remark was absolutely verified when Pasteur, a chemist who had solved
+the problem of fermentation, also solved <a name="129">{129}</a> the weightier questions
+connected with human diseases. Before even Boyle, however, Father
+Kircher had expressed his opinion that disease processes were similar
+to those of putrefaction. He considered that putrefaction was due to
+the presence of certain <i>corpuscula</i>, as he called them, and these he
+said were also probably active in the causation of infectious disease.
+</p>
+<p>
+He was not sure whether or not these <i>corpuscula</i> were living, in the
+sense that they could multiply of themselves. He considered, however,
+that this was very probable. As to their distribution, he is
+especially happy in his anticipations of modern medical progress.
+While he considered it very possible that they were carried through
+the air, he gives it as his deliberate opinion that living things were
+the most frequent agents for the distribution of the corpuscles of
+disease. He is sure that they are carried by flies, for instance, and
+that they may be inoculated by the stings of such insects as fleas or
+mosquitoes. He even gives some examples that he knew of in which this
+was demonstrated. Still more striking is his insistence on the fact
+that such a contagious disease as pest may be carried by cats and dogs
+and other domestic animals. The cat seemed to him to be associated
+with special danger in this matter, and he gives an example of a
+nunnery which had carefully protected itself against possible
+infection, but had allowed a cat to come in, with the result that some
+cases of the disease developed.
+</p>
+<a name="130">{130}</a>
+<p>
+An interesting bit of discussion is to be found in the chapter in
+which Father Kircher takes up the consideration of the problem whether
+infectious disease can ever be produced by the imagination. He is
+speaking particularly of the pest, but there is more than a suspicion
+that under the name pest came at times of epidemics many of our modern
+contagious diseases. Father Kircher says that there is no doubt that
+worry plays an important role in predisposing persons to take the
+disease. He does not consider, however, that it can originate of
+itself, or be engendered in the person without contact with some
+previous case of pest. With regard to the question of predisposition
+he is very modern. He points out that many persons do not take the
+disease, because evidently of some protective quality which they
+possess. He is sure, too, that the best possible protection comes from
+keeping in good, general health.
+</p>
+<p>
+A curious suggestion is that with regard to the grave-diggers and
+undertakers. It has often been noted in Italy, so Father Kircher
+asserts, that these individuals as a rule did not succumb to the
+disease, notwithstanding their extreme exposure, when the majority of
+the population were suffering from it. Toward the end of the epidemic,
+however, at the time when the townspeople were beginning to rejoice
+over its practical disappearance, it was not unusual to have these
+caretakers of the dead brought down with the disease--often, too, in
+fatal form. Father <a name="131">{131}</a> Kircher considers that only strong and
+healthy individuals would take up such an occupation. That the
+satisfaction of accomplishing a large amount of work and making money
+kept them in good health. Later on, however, as the result of overwork
+during the time of the epidemic and also of discouragement because
+they saw the end of prosperous times for them, they became predisposed
+to the disease and then fell victims.
+</p>
+<p>
+With regard to the prevention of the pest in individual cases, Father
+Kircher has some very sensible remarks. He says that physicians as a
+rule depend on certain medicinal protectives or on amulets which they
+carry. The amulets he considers to be merely superstitious. The
+sweet-smelling substances that are sometimes employed are probably
+without any preventive action. Certain physicians employed a
+prophylactic remedy made up of very many substances. This is what in
+modern days we would be apt to call a "gunshot prescription." It
+contained so many ingredients that it was hoped that some one of them
+would hit the right spot and prove effective. Father Kircher has
+another name for it. We do not know whether it is original with him,
+but in any case it is worth while remembering. He calls it a "calendar
+prescription," because when written it resembled a list of the days of
+the month.
+</p>
+<p>
+His opinion of this "calendar prescription" is not very high. It seems
+to him that if one ingredient did good, most of the others would be
+<a name="132">{132}</a> almost as sure to do harm. The main factor in prophylaxis to his
+mind was to keep in normal health, and this seemed not quite
+compatible with frequent recourse to a prescription containing so many
+drugs that were almost sure to have no good effect and might have an
+ill effect. It is all the more interesting to find these common-sense
+views because ordinarily Father Kircher is set down as one who
+accepted most of the traditions of his time without inquiring very
+deeply into their origin or truth, simply reporting them out of the
+fulness of his rather pedantic information. In most cases it will be
+found, however, that, like Herodotus, reporting the curious things
+that had been told him in his travels, he is very careful to state
+what are his own opinions and what he owes to others and gives place
+to, though without attaching much credence to them.
+</p>
+<p>
+It must not be forgotten that his great contemporaries, Von Helmont
+and Paracelsus, were not free from many of the curious scientific
+superstitions of their time, though they had, like him, in many
+respects the true scientific spirit. Von Helmont, for instance, was a
+firm believer in the doctrine of spontaneous generation, and even went
+so far as to consider that it had its application to animals of rather
+high order. For instance, one of his works contains a rather famous
+prescription to bring about the spontaneous generation of mice. What
+was needed was a jar of meal kept in a dark corner covered by some
+soiled linen. After three weeks these elements <a name="133">{133}</a> would be found to
+have bred mice. Too much must not be expected, then, of Kircher in the
+matter of crediting supposedly scientific traditions.
+</p>
+<p>
+It may seem surprising that Father Kircher's book did not produce a
+greater impression upon the medical research work and teaching of the
+day and lead to an earlier development of microbiology. Unfortunately,
+however, the instruments of precision necessary for such a study were
+not then at hand, and the gradual loss of prestige of the book is
+therefore readily to be understood. The explanation of this delay in
+the development of science is very well put by Crookshank, who is the
+professor of comparative pathology and bacteriology at King's College,
+London, and one of the acknowledged authorities on these subjects in
+the medical world. Professor Crookshank says, at the beginning of the
+first chapter of his text-book on bacteriology, in which he traces the
+origin of the science, that the first attempt to demonstrate the
+existence of the <i>contagium vivum</i> dates back almost to the discovery
+of the microscope:--[Footnote 11]
+</p>
+<p class="footnote">
+    [Footnote 11: <i>A Text-Book of Bacteriology</i>. Including the
+    Etiology and Prevention of Infectious Diseases By Edgar M.
+    Crookshank. Fourth Edition London, 1896]
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  Athanasius Kircher nearly two and a half centuries ago expressed his
+  belief that there were definite micro-organisms to which diseases
+  were attributable. The microscope had revealed that all decomposing
+  <a name="134">{134}</a> substances swarmed with countless micro-organisms which were
+  invisible to the naked eye, and Kircher sought for similar organisms
+  in disease, which he considered might be due to their agency. The
+  microscopes which he describes obviously could not admit of the
+  possibility of studying or even detecting the micro-organisms which
+  are now known to be associated with certain diseases; and it is not
+  surprising that his teaching did not at the time gain much
+  attention. They were destined, however, to receive a great impetus
+  from the discoveries which emanated not long after from the father
+  of microscopy, Leeuwenhoek.
+</p>
+<p>
+This reference to Kircher's work, however, shows that more cordial
+appreciation of his scientific genius has come in our day, and it
+seems not unlikely that in the progress of more accurate and detailed
+knowledge of scientific origins his reputation will grow as it
+deserves. With that doubtless will come a better understanding of the
+true attitude of the scholars of the time--so many of whom were
+churchmen--to so-called physical science in contradistinction to
+philosophy, in which of course they had always been profoundly
+interested. The work done by Kircher could never have been
+accomplished but for the sympathetic interest of those who are falsely
+supposed to have been bitterly opposed to all progress in the natural
+sciences, but whose opposition was really limited to theoretic phases
+of scientific inquiry that threatened, as has scientific theory so
+often since, to prove directly contradictory to revealed truth.
+</p>
+<br>
+<a name="135">{135}</a>
+<br>
+<h2>VI.
+<br><br>
+BISHOP STENSEN: ANATOMIST AND FATHER OF GEOLOGY.</h2>
+<br>
+<a name="136">{136}</a>
+<br>
+<p>
+God makes sages and saints that they may be fountain-heads of wisdom
+and virtue for all who yearn and aspire: and whoever has superior
+knowledge or ability is thereby committed to more effectual and
+unselfish service of his fellow-men. If the love of fame be but an
+infirmity of noble souls, the craving of professional reputation is
+but conceit and vanity. To be of help, and to be of help not merely to
+animals, but to immortal, pure, loving spirits this is the noblest
+earthly fate.--BISHOP SPALDING: <i>The Physician's Calling and
+Education</i>.
+</p>
+<br>
+<p align=center>
+<img style="width: 375px; height: 489px;" alt=""
+     src="images/137p.jpg" border=1>
+<br>
+NICOLAUS STENONIS
+</p>
+<br>
+<a name="137">{137}</a>
+
+<h2>VI.
+<br><br>
+BISHOP STENSEN, ANATOMIST AND FATHER OF GEOLOGY.</h2>
+<br>
+<p>
+In the sketch of the life of Father Athanasius Kircher, the
+distinguished Jesuit scientist, mathematician, and Orientalist, I
+called attention to the fact that, at the very time when Galileo was
+tried and condemned at Rome, because of his abuse of Scripture for the
+demonstration of scientific thesis, a condemnation which has been
+often since proclaimed to be due to the Church's intolerant opposition
+to science, the ecclesiastical authorities at Rome invited Father
+Kircher, who was at that time teaching mathematics in Germany, to come
+to Rome, and during the next half-century encouraged him in every way
+in the cultivation of all the physical sciences of the times. It was
+to popes and cardinals, as well as to influential members of his own
+order of the Jesuits, that Father Kircher owed his opportunities for
+the foundation of a complete and magnificent museum, illustrating many
+phases of natural science--the first of its kind in the world, and
+which yet continues to be one of the noteworthy collections.
+</p>
+<p>
+During the decade in which the condemnation of Galileo and the
+invitation of Father Kircher to Rome took place, there was born, at
+<a name="138">{138}</a> Copenhagen, a man whose career of distinction in science was to
+prove even more effectively than that of Kircher, if possible, that
+there was no opposition in ecclesiastical circles in Italy, during
+this century, to the development of natural science even in
+departments in respect to which the Church has, over and over again,
+been said to be specially intolerant. This scientist was Nicholas
+Stensen, the discoverer of the duct of the parotid gland, which
+conducts saliva into the mouth, and the founder, in the truest sense
+of the word, of the modern science of geology. Stensen's discovery of
+the duct which has since borne his name was due to no mere accident;
+for he was one of the really great anatomists of all time, and one
+distinguished particularly for his powers of original observation and
+investigation. To have the two distinctions, then, of a leader in
+anatomy and a founder in geology, stamps him as one of the supreme
+scientific geniuses of all time, a man not only of a fruitfully
+inquiring disposition of mind, but also one who possessed a very
+definite realization of how important for the cause of scientific
+truth is the necessity of testing all ideas with regard to things
+physical, by actual observations of nature and by drawing conclusions
+not wider than the observed facts.
+</p>
+<p>
+Notwithstanding this characteristically scientific temper of mind,
+which, according to most modern ideas, at least, would seem to be sure
+to lead him away from religious truth, Stensen at the <a name="139">{139}</a> very
+height of his career as a scientist, while studying anatomy and
+geology in Italy, became a convert from Lutheranism, in which he had
+been born, to Catholicity, and thereafter made it one of the prime
+objects of his life to bring as many others as possible of the
+separated brethren into the fold of the Church. When he accepted the
+professorship of anatomy at the University of Copenhagen, it was with
+the definite idea that he might be able to use the influence of his
+position to make people realize how much of religious truth there was
+in the old Church from which they had been separated in the preceding
+century. After a time, however, his zeal led him to resign his
+position, and ask to be made a priest, in order that he might be able
+more effectively to fulfil what he now considered the main purpose of
+his life, the winning of souls to the Church. As, since his
+conversion, he had given every evidence of the most sincere piety and
+humble simplicity, his desires were granted. His book on geology,
+however, was partly written during the very time when he was preparing
+for sacred orders, and was warmly welcomed by all his Catholic
+friends. After spending some time as a missionary, and attracting a
+great deal of attention by his devout life and by the many friends and
+converts he succeeded in making, the recently converted Duke of
+Hanover asked that the zealous Danish convert should be made bishop of
+his capital city. This request was immediately granted, and Stensen
+spent several years <a name="140">{140}</a> in the hardest missionary labor in his new
+field. As a matter of fact, his labors proved too much for his rather
+delicate constitution, and he died at the comparatively early age of
+forty-eight. The visitor to the University of Copenhagen marvels to
+find among the portraits of her professors of anatomy one in the robes
+of a Roman Catholic bishop. This is Stensen. In 1881, when the
+International Geographical Congress met at Bologna, it adjourned at
+the end of the session to Florence to unveil a bust of Stensen, over
+his tomb there. Here evidently is a man whose life is well worth
+studying, because of all that it means for the history of his time.
+</p>
+<p>
+Nicholas Stensen--or, as he is often called, Steno, because this is
+the Latin form of his name, and Latin was practically exclusively
+used, during his age, in scientific circles all over Europe--was born
+20 January, 1638, in Copenhagen. His father died while he was
+comparatively young, and his mother married again, both her husbands
+being goldsmiths in high repute for their skill, and both of them in
+rather well-to-do circumstances. His early education was obtained at
+Copenhagen, and the results displayed in his attainments show how well
+it must have been conducted. Later in life he spoke and wrote Latin
+very fluently and had, besides, a very thorough knowledge of Greek and
+of Hebrew. Of the modern languages, German, French, Italian, and Low
+Dutch he knew very well, mainly from residence in the various
+countries in which they <a name="141">{141}</a> are spoken. A more unusual attainment at
+that time, and one showing the ardor of his thirst for knowledge, was
+an acquaintance with English. In early life he was especially fond of
+mathematics and, indeed, it was almost by accident that this did not
+become his chosen field of educational development.
+</p>
+<p>
+At eighteen he became a student of the University of Copenhagen, and
+after some preliminary studies in philosophy and philology devoted
+himself mainly to medicine. At this time the Danish University was
+especially distinguished for its work in anatomy. The famous family of
+Bartholini, who had for several generations been teaching there, had
+proved a copious source of inspiration for the students in their
+department, and as a consequence original investigation of a high
+order, with enthusiasm for the development of anatomical science, had
+become the rule. The external situation was not favorable to learning,
+for Denmark was engaged in harassing and costly wars during a
+considerable portion of the seventeenth century; yet the work
+accomplished here was, undoubtedly, some of the best in Europe. Young
+Stensen had the advantage of having Thomas Bartholini as his
+preceptor, and soon, because of his enthusiasm for science, as friend
+and father.
+</p>
+<p>
+Stensen had been at the University scarcely two years when the city of
+Copenhagen was besieged by the Swedes. Professor Lutz, of the
+University of St. Louis, who has recently written <a name="142">{142}</a> an article on
+Stensen, which appeared in the <i>Medical Library and Historical
+Journal</i> for July, 1904, says of this period:
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  A regiment of students numbering two hundred and sixty-six, called
+  "the black coats" on account of their dark clothes, was formed for
+  the defence of the city; upon its roster we find the name of young
+  Steno. During the day they were at work mending the ramparts, and
+  the nights were spent in repelling the attacks of the enemy. In the
+  course of this long siege, the city was compelled to cope with a
+  more formidable enemy than the Swedes--famine with all its
+  horrors--before relief came in the shape of provisions and
+  reinforcements furnished by the Dutch fleet. Throughout these
+  turbulent days the student soldiers rendered valuable services to
+  their country, and though it be true that "inter arma silent
+  musae"--"the war gods do not favor the muses"--it appears
+  nevertheless that Steno attended the lectures and dissections which
+  were conducted by the teachers in the intervals when the student
+  were not on duty.
+</p>
+<p>
+After some three years spent at the University of Copenhagen, Stensen,
+as was the custom of the times, went to pursue his post-graduate
+studies in a foreign university. Bartholini furnished him with a
+letter of recommendation to Professor Blasius, who was teaching
+anatomy at Amsterdam in Holland. Amsterdam had become famous during
+the seventeenth century for the very practical character of its
+anatomical teaching. As the result of the cordial commendation of
+Bartholini, Stensen became an inmate of the house of Professor
+Blasius, and was given <a name="143">{143}</a> special opportunities to pursue his
+anatomical studies for himself. He had been but a very short time at
+Amsterdam, when he made the discovery to which his name has ever since
+been attached, that of the duct of the parotid gland. Stensen's
+discovery was made while he was dissecting the head of a sheep. He
+found shortly afterwards, however, that the canal could be
+demonstrated to exist in the dog, though it was not so large a
+structure. Blasius seems to have been rather annoyed at the fact that
+a student, just beginning work with him, should make so important a
+discovery, and wished to claim the honor of it for himself. There is
+no doubt, however, now, notwithstanding the discussion over the
+priority of the discovery which took place at the time, that Stensen
+was the first to make this important observation.
+</p>
+<p>
+Not long before, Wharton, an English observer, had demonstrated the
+existence of a canal leading from the submaxillary gland into the
+mouth. This might have been expected to lead to the discovery of other
+glandular ducts, but so far had not. As a matter of fact, the function
+of the parotid gland was not well understood at this time. During the
+discussion as to priority of discovery, Steno pointed out one fact
+which he very properly considers as the most conclusive proof that
+Blasius did not discover the duct of the gland. He says: "Blasius
+shows plainly in his treatise 'De Medicina Generali' that he has never
+sought for the duct, for he does not assign <a name="144">{144}</a> to it either the
+proper point of beginning or ending, and assigns to the parotid gland
+itself so unworthy a function as that of furnishing warmth to the ear,
+so that if I were not perfectly sure of having once shown him the duct
+myself, I should be tempted to say that he had never seen it."
+</p>
+<p>
+Bartholini settled the controversy, and at the same time removed any
+discouragement that might have arisen in his young pupil's mind, by
+writing to him:--
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  Your assiduity in investigating the secrets of the human body, as
+  well as your fortunate discoveries, are highly praised by the
+  learned of your country. The fatherland congratulates itself upon
+  such a citizen, I upon such a pupil, through whose efforts anatomy
+  makes daily progress, and our lympathic vessels are traced out more
+  and more. You divide honors with Wharton, since you have added to
+  his internal duct an external one, and have thereby discovered the
+  sources of the saliva concerning which many have hitherto dreamed
+  much, but which no one has (permit the expression) pointed out with
+  the finger. Continue, my Steno, to follow the path to immortal glory
+  which true anatomy holds out to you.
+</p>
+<p>
+Under the stimulus of such encouragement, it is no wonder that Stensen
+continued his original work with eminent success. He published an
+extensive article on the glands of the eye and the vessels of the
+nose.
+</p>
+<p>
+Bartholini wrote to him again: "Your fame is growing from day to day,
+for your pen and your sharp eye know no rest." Later he wrote <a name="145">{145}</a>
+again: "You may count upon the favor of the king as well as upon the
+applause of the learned." After three years at the University of
+Amsterdam, Steno returned to Copenhagen, where he published his
+"Anatomical Observations Concerning the Muscles and Glands." It was in
+this book that he announced his persuasion that the heart was a
+muscle. As he said himself, "the heart has been considered the seat of
+natural warmth, the throne of the soul; but if you examine it more
+closely, it turns out to be nothing but a muscle. The men of the past
+would not have been so grossly mistaken with regard to it, had they
+not preferred their imaginary theories to the results of the simple
+observation of nature." It is easy to understand that this observation
+created a very great sensation. It had much to do with overthrowing
+certain theoretic systems of medicine, and nearly a century later the
+distinguished physiologist, Haller, did not hesitate to proclaim the
+volume in which it occurs, as a "golden book."
+</p>
+<p>
+Stensen's studies in anatomy stamp him as an original genius of a high
+order, and this is all the more remarkable because his career occurs
+just in those years when there were distinguished discoverers in
+anatomy in every country in Europe. When Stensen began his work in
+anatomy, Harvey was still alive. The elder Bartholini, the first who
+ever established an anatomical museum, was another of his
+contemporaries. Among the names of distinguished anatomists <a name="146">{146}</a> with
+whom Stensen was brought intimately in contact during the course of
+his studies in Holland, France and Italy are those of Swammerdam, Van
+Horne, and Malpighi. There is no doubt that his intercourse with such
+men sharpened his own intellectual activity, and increased his
+enthusiasm for original investigation in contradistinction to the mere
+accumulation of information.
+</p>
+<p>
+His contemporaries, indeed, exhausted most of the adjectives of the
+Latin language in trying to express their appreciation of his acuity
+of observation. He was spoken of as <i>oculatissimus</i>--that is, as
+being all eyes, <i>subtilissimus, acutissimus, sagacissimus</i> in his
+knowledge of the human body, and as the most perspicacious anatomist
+of the time. Leibnitz and Haller were in accord in considering him one
+of the greatest of anatomists. In later years this admiration for
+Stensen's genius has not been less enthusiastically expressed. Haeser,
+in his "History of Medicine," the third edition of which appeared at
+Jena in 1879, says: "Among the greatest anatomists of the seventeenth
+century belongs Nicholas Steno, the most distinguished pupil of Thomas
+Bartholini. Steno was rightly considered in his own time as one of the
+greatest of anatomical discoverers. There is scarcely any part of the
+human body the knowledge of which was not rendered more complete by
+his investigations."
+</p>
+<p>
+The most valuable discovery made by Stensen was undoubtedly that the
+heart is a muscle. It <a name="147">{147}</a> must not be forgotten that in his time,
+Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood was not yet
+generally accepted; indeed, there were many who considered the theory
+(as they called it) of the English investigator as one of the passing
+fads of medicine. Two significant discoveries, made after Harvey,
+served, however, to establish the theory of the circulation of the
+blood on a firm basis and to make it a definite medical doctrine. The
+most important of these was Malpighi's discovery that the
+capillaries--that is, the minute vessels at the end of the arterial
+tree on the surface of the body and in various organs--served as the
+direct connexion between the veins and the arteries. This demonstrated
+just how the blood passed from the arterial to the venous system.
+Scarcely less important, however, for the confirmation of Harvey's
+teaching was Stensen's demonstration of the muscular character of the
+tissue of the heart.
+</p>
+<p>
+Some of his observations upon muscles are extremely interesting, and,
+though he made many mistakes in explaining their function, he added
+not a little to the anatomical and physiological knowledge of the time
+in their regard. He seems to have been one of the first to recognize
+the fact that in the higher animals the heart may continue to beat for
+a considerable time after the animal is apparently dead; and, indeed,
+that by irritation of the removed heart, voluntary contractions may be
+brought about which will continue spontaneously for some moments.
+</p>
+<a name="148">{148}</a>
+<p>
+With regard to the objections made by some, that such studies as these
+upon muscles could scarcely be expected to produce any direct result
+for the treatment of disease, or in the ordinary practice of medicine,
+Stensen said in reply that it is only on the basis of the anatomical,
+physiological, and pathological observation that progress in medicine
+is to be looked for. In spite, then, of the discouragement of the
+many, who look always for immediate practical results, Stensen
+continued his investigation, and even proposed to make an extended
+study of the mechanism of the muscular action.
+</p>
+<p>
+In the meantime, however, there had gradually been coming into his
+life another element which was to prove more absorbing than even his
+zeal for scientific discovery. It is this which constitutes the
+essential index of the man's character and has been sadly
+misunderstood by many of his biographers.
+</p>
+<p>
+Sir Michael Foster, of Cambridge, England, in his "Lectures on the
+History of Physiology," originally delivered as the Lane Lectures at
+Cooper Medical College, San Francisco, said:--
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  While thus engaged, still working at physiology, Stensen turned his
+  versatile mind to other problems, as well as to those of comparative
+  anatomy, and especially to those of the infant, indeed hardly as yet
+  born, science of geology. His work "De solido intra solidum" is
+  thought by geologists to be a brilliant effort toward the beginning
+  of their science
+<br><br>
+  In 1672 he returned for a while to his native city of <a name="149">{149}</a>
+  Copenhagen, but within two years he was back again at Florence; and
+  then there came to him, while as yet a young man of some thirty-six
+  summers, a sudden and profound change in his life.
+<br><br>
+  In his early days he had heard much, too much perhaps, of the
+  doctrines of Luther. Probably he had been repelled by the austere
+  devotion which ruled the paternal roof. And, as his answer to
+  Bossuet shows, his university life and studies, his intercourse with
+  the active intellects of many lands, and his passion for inquiry
+  into natural knowledge, had freed him from passive obedience to
+  dogma. He doubtless, as did many others of his time, looked upon
+  himself as one of the enlightened, as one raised above the barren
+  theological questions which were moving the minds of lesser men
+</p>
+<p>
+Yet it was out of this sceptical state of mind, that life in Italy and
+intimate contact with ecclesiastics and religious, so often said to be
+likely not to have any such effect, brought this acute scientific mind
+into the Catholic Church. Nor did he become merely a formal adherent,
+but an ardent believer, and then an enthusiastic proselytizer. One
+American writer of a history of medicine, in his utter failure to
+comprehend or sympathize with the change that came over Stensen,
+speaks of him as having become at the end of his life a mere
+"peripatetic converter of heretics." This phase of Stensen's life has,
+however, as ample significance as any that preceded it.
+</p>
+<p>
+Steno's expectations of the professorship of anatomy at Copenhagen
+were disappointed, but the appointment went to Jacobson, whose work
+indeed is scarcely less distinguished than that of <a name="150">{150}</a> his
+unsuccessful rival. The next few years Stensen passed in Paris, where
+he was assiduous in making dissections, and where he attracted much
+attention; and then, somewhat later, in Italy; in 1665 and 1666 he was
+in Rome. Thence he went to Florence, in order to perfect himself in
+Italian. The next few years he spent in this city, having received the
+appointment of body physician to the Grand Duke, as well as an
+appointment of visiting physician, as we would call it now, to the
+Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova.
+</p>
+<p>
+It was while at Florence that the whole current of Stensen's life was
+changed by his conversion to Catholicity. His position as physician to
+the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova brought him frequently into the
+apothecary shop attached to the hospital. As a result he came to know
+very well the religious in charge of the department, Sister Maria
+Flavia, the daughter of a well-known Tuscan family. At this time she
+had been for some thirty-five years a nun. Before long she learned
+that the distinguished young physician, at this time scarcely thirty
+years of age, who was such a pleasant gentleman in all his ways, was a
+Lutheran. She began, as she told afterwards, first by prayer, and then
+by friendly suggestions, to attempt to win him to the Catholic Church.
+Stensen, who seems already to have been well-disposed toward the
+Church, and who had always been known for a wonderful purity of heart
+and simplicity of character, listened very willingly to the naive
+words of the <a name="151">{151}</a> old religious, who might very well have been his
+mother.
+</p>
+<p>
+Many years later, by the command of her confessor, the good Sister
+related the detailed story of his conversion. She began very simply by
+telling him one day that if he did not accept the true Catholic faith,
+he would surely go to hell. He listened to this without any
+impatience, and she said it a number of other times, half jokingly
+perhaps, but much more than half in earnest. As he listened so kindly,
+she said to him one day that he must pray every day to God to let him
+know the truth. This he promised to do and, as she found out from his
+servant (what is it these nuns do not find out?) he did pray every
+evening. One day, while he was in the apothecary shop, the Angelus
+bell rang, and she asked him to say the Angelus. He was perfectly
+willing to say the first part of the Hail Mary, but he did not want to
+say the second part, as he did not believe in the invocation of the
+Blessed Virgin and the saints. Then she asked him to visit the Church
+of the Blessed Virgin, the Santissima Nunziata, which he did. After
+this she suggested to him that he should abstain from meat on Fridays
+and Saturdays, which he promised to do, and which the good nun found
+out once more from his servant, he actually did do. And then the
+religious thought it was time to suggest that he should consult a
+clergyman, and his conversion was not long delayed.
+</p>
+<p>
+Young Stensen seems to have been the object <a name="152">{152}</a> of solicitude on the
+part of a number of the good, elderly women with whom he was brought
+in contact. He discussed with Signora Arnolfini the great difficulty
+he had in believing the mystery of the Eucharist. Another good woman,
+the Signora Lavinia Felice, seeing how interested he was in things
+Catholic, succeeded in bringing him to the notice of a prominent
+Jesuit in Florence. As his friend, Sister Maria Flavia, had
+recommended the same Father to him, he followed the advice all the
+more readily, and it was not long before his last doubts were solved.
+</p>
+<p>
+It was after his conversion that Stensen received his invitation to
+become the professor of anatomy at the University of Copenhagen. Much
+as he had become attached to Florence, the thought of returning to his
+native city was sweet; and then besides he hoped that he might be able
+to influence his countrymen in their views toward the Catholic Church.
+It was not long, however, before the bigotry of his compatriots made
+life so unpleasant for him in Copenhagen that he resigned his position
+and returned to Italy. Various official posts in Florence were open
+for him, but now he had resolved to devote himself to the service of
+the Church, and so he became a priest. His contemporary, the Cardinal
+Archbishop of Florence, said with regard to him: "Already as a member
+of a Protestant sect he had lived a life of innocence and had
+practised all the moral virtues. After his conversion he had marked
+out for himself so severe a method of life and had <a name="153">{153}</a> remained so
+true to it that in a very short time he reached a high degree of
+perfection." The Archbishop does not hesitate to say that he had
+become a man of constant union with God and entirely dead to himself.
+There was very little hesitation, then, in accepting him as a
+candidate for the priesthood, and as his knowledge of theology was
+very thorough, most of the delay in raising him to that dignity came
+from his own humility and his desire to prepare himself properly for
+the privilege. He made the exercises of St. Ignatius as part of his
+preparation, and after his ordination it was a source of remark with
+how much devotion he said his first and all succeeding Masses. It was
+not long before the piety of Stensen's life attracted great attention.
+At this time he was in frequent communication with such men as Spinoza
+and Leibnitz, the distinguished philosophers. It is curious to think
+of the ardent mystic, the pantheistic philosopher, and the speculative
+scientist, so different in character, having many interests in common.
+</p>
+<p>
+It was during these years in Italy that Stensen did what must be
+considered, undoubtedly, his most important work, even more important,
+if possible, than his anatomical discoveries. This was his foundation
+of the science of geology. As has been well said in a prominent
+text-book of geology, his book on this subject sets him in that group
+of men who as prophets of science often run far ahead of their times
+to point out the path which later centuries will follow in the road of
+<a name="154">{154}</a> knowledge. It is rather surprising to find that the seventeenth
+century must enjoy the privilege of being considered the cradle of
+geological knowledge. There is no doubt, however, that the great
+principles of the science were laid down in Stensen's little book,
+which he intended only to be an introduction to a more extensive work,
+but the latter was unfortunately never completed, nor, indeed, so far
+as we are able to decide now, ever seriously begun.
+</p>
+<p>
+One of the basic principles of the science of geology Stensen taught
+as follows: "If a given body of definite form, produced according to
+the laws of nature, be carefully examined, it will show in itself the
+place and manner of its origin." This principle he showed would apply
+so comprehensively that the existence of many things, hitherto
+apparently inexplicable, became rather easy of solution. It must not
+be forgotten that before this time two explanations for the existence
+of peculiar bodies, or of ordinary bodies, in peculiar places, had
+been offered. According to one school of thought, the fossils found
+deep in the earth, or sometimes in the midst of rocks, had been
+created there. It was as if the creative force had run beyond the
+ordinary bounds of nature and had produced certain things, ordinarily
+associated with life, even in the midst of dead matter. The other
+explanation suggested was that the flood had in its work of
+destruction upon earth caused many anomalous displacements of living
+things, and had buried some of the <a name="155">{155}</a> animals under such
+circumstances that later they were found even beneath rocks, or deep
+down in the earth, far beyond where the animals could be supposed to
+have penetrated by any ordinary means during life.
+</p>
+<p>
+Stensen had observed very faithfully the various strata that are to be
+found wherever special appearances of the earth's surface were
+exposed, or wherever deep excavations were made. His explanation of
+how these various strata are formed will serve to show, perhaps better
+than anything else, how far advanced he was in his realization of
+ideas that are supposed to belong only to modern geology. He said:
+"The powdery layers of the earth's surface must necessarily at some
+time have been held in suspension in water, from which they were
+precipitated by their own weight. The movement of the fluid scattered
+the precipitate here and there and gave to it a level surface."
+</p>
+<p>
+"Bodies of considerable circumference," Stensen continues, "which are
+found in the various layers of the earth, followed the laws of gravity
+as regards their position and their relations to one another. The
+powdery material of the earth's strata took on so completely the form
+of the bodies which it surrounded that even the smallest apertures
+became filled up and the powdery layer fitted accurately to the
+surface of the object and even took something of its polish."
+</p>
+<p>
+With regard to the composition of the various strata of the earth, the
+father of geology <a name="156">{156}</a> considered that if in a layer of rock all the
+portions are of the same kind there is no reason to deny that such a
+layer came into existence at the time of creation, when the whole
+surface of the earth was covered with fluid. If, however, in any one
+stratum portions of another stratum are found, or if the remains of
+plants or animals occur, there is no doubt that such a stratum had not
+its origin at the time of creation, but came into existence later.
+</p>
+<p>
+If there is to be found in a stratum traces of sea salt, or the
+remains of sea animals, or portions of vessels, or such like objects,
+which are only to be encountered at the bottom of the sea, then it
+must be considered that this portion of the earth's surface once was
+below the sea level, though it may happen that this occurred only by
+the accident of a flood of some kind. The great distance from the sea,
+or other body of water, at the present time, may be due to the sinking
+of the water level in the neighborhood, or by the rising up of a
+mountain from some internal terrestrial cause in the interval of time.
+He continues:--
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  If one finds in any layer remains of branches of trees, or herbs,
+  then it is only right to conclude that these objects were brought
+  together because of flood or of some such condition in the place
+  where they are now found. If in a layer coal and ashes and burnt
+  clay or other scorched bodies are found, then it seems sure that
+  some place in the neighborhood of a watercourse a fire took place,
+  and this is all the more sure when the whole layer consists of ashes
+  and <a name="157">{157}</a> coal. Whenever in the same place the material of which all
+  the layers is composed is the same, there seems to be no doubt that
+  the fluid to which the stratum owes its origin did not at different
+  times obtain different material for its building purposes.
+</p>
+<p>
+In respect to the mountains and their formation, Stensen said very
+definitely:--
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  All the mountains which we see now have not existed from the
+  beginning of things. Mountains do not, however, grow as do plants.
+  The stones of which mountains are composed have only a certain
+  analogy with the bones of animals, but have no similarity in
+  structure or in origin, nor have they the same function and purpose.
+  Mountain ranges, or chains of mountains as some prefer to call them,
+  do not always run in certain directions, though this has sometimes
+  been claimed. Such claims correspond neither to reason nor to
+  observation. Mountains may be very much disturbed in the course of
+  years. Mountain peaks rise and fall somewhat. Chasms open and shut
+  here and there in them, and though there are those who pretend that
+  it is only the credulous who will accept the stories of such
+  happenings, there is no doubt that they have been established on
+  trustworthy evidence.
+</p>
+<p>
+In the course of his observations in Italy, Stensen had seen many
+mussel shells, which had been gathered from various layers of the
+earth's surface. With regard to the shells themselves, he said that
+there could be no doubt that they had come as the excretion of the
+mantle of the mussel, and that the differences that could be noted in
+them were in accordance with the varying forms of these animals. He
+pointed out, however, that some of the mussel shells found in <a name="158">{158}</a>
+strata of rock were really mussel shells in every respect as regards
+the material of which they were composed as well as their interior
+structure and their external form, so that there could be no possible
+question of their origin. On the other hand, a certain number of the
+so-called mussel shells were not composed of the ordinary materials of
+which such shells are usually made up; but had indeed only the
+external form of genuine shells. Stensen considered, however, that
+even these must be regarded as originating in real mussel shells, the
+original substance having been later on replaced by other material. He
+explained this replacement process in very much the same way that we
+now suggest the explanation of various processes of petrification.
+There is no doubt that in this he went far beyond his contemporaries,
+and pointed out very clearly what was to be the teaching of
+generations long after his own.
+</p>
+<p>
+The same principles he applied to mussel shells, Stensen considered
+must have their application also to all other portions of animal
+bodies, teeth, bones, whole skeletons, and even more perishable animal
+materials that might be found buried in the earth's strata. His
+treatment of the question of the remains of plants was quite as
+satisfactory as that of the animals. He distinguished between the
+impressions of plants, the petrification of plants, the carbonization
+of plants, and then dwelt somewhat on the tendency of certain minerals
+to form dendrites, that is, branching <a name="159">{159}</a> processes which look not
+unlike plants. He pointed out how easy it is to be deceived by these
+appearances, and stated very clearly the distinction between real
+plants and such simulated ones.
+</p>
+<p>
+It will be scarcely necessary for us to apologize for having given so
+much space to Stensen's work on geology. Many distinguished
+scientists, however, have insisted that no greater advance at the
+birth of a science was ever made than that which Stensen accomplished
+in his geological work. Hoffman says that after carefully studying the
+work, he has come to the conclusion that of the successors of Stensen,
+no student of the mountains down to Werner's day had succeeded in
+comprehending so many fruitful points of view in geology. None of his
+great successors in geology has succeeded in introducing so many new
+ideas into the science as the first great observer. For several
+centuries most of his successors in geology remained far behind him in
+creative genius, and so there is little progress worth while noting in
+the knowledge of the method of earth formation, until almost the
+beginning of the nineteenth century, though his little book was
+written in 1668 and 1669.
+</p>
+<p>
+Leibnitz regretted very much that Stensen did not complete his work on
+geology as he originally intended. Had he succeeded in gathering
+together all of his original observations, illustrated by the material
+he had collected, his work would have had much greater effect. As it
+was, the golden truth which he had expressed in such <a name="160">{160}</a> few words,
+without being able always to state just how he had come to his
+conclusions, was only of avail to science in a limited way. Men had to
+repeat his observations long years afterwards in order to realize the
+truth of what he had laid down. Leibnitz considered that it took more
+than a century for geological science to reach the point at which it
+had been left by Steno's work, and which he had reached at a single
+bound. There is scarcely a single modern geologist interested at all
+in the history of the science who has not paid a worthy tribute to
+Steno's great basic discoveries in the science. It was not a matter
+for surprise, then, that the International Congress of Geologists
+which met at Bologna in 1881 assembled at his tomb in Florence in
+order to do him honor, after the regular sessions of the Congress had
+closed. They erected to his memory a tablet with the following
+scription:
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  "Nicolae Stenonis imaginem vides hospes quam aere collato docti
+  amplius mille ex universo terrarum orbe insculpendam curarunt in
+  memoriam ejus diei IV cal. Octobr. an. MDCCCLXXXI quo geologi post
+  conventum Bononiae habitum praeside Joanne Capellinio equite hue
+  peregrinati sunt atque adstantibus legatis flor Municipii et R.
+  Instituti Altiorum doctrinarum cineres viri inter geologos et
+  anatomicos praestantissimi in hujus templi hypogaeo laurea corona
+  honoris gratique animi ergo honestaverunt." [Footnote 12]
+</p>
+<p class="footnote">
+    [Footnote 12: You behold here, traveller, the bust of Nicholas
+    Steno as it was set up by more than a thousand scientists from all
+    over the world, as a memorial to him, on the fourth of the Kalends
+    of October, 1881. The geologists of the world, after their meeting
+    in Bologna, under the presidency of Count John Capellini, made a
+    pilgrimage to his tomb, and in the presence of the chosen
+    representatives of the municipality, and of the learned professors
+    of the University, honored the mortal ashes of this man,
+    illustrious among geologists and anatomists.]
+</p>
+<br>
+<a name="161">{161}</a>
+<br>
+<p>
+Stensen's work brought him in contact with some of the distinguished
+men of the seventeenth century, all of whom learned to appreciate his
+breadth of intelligence and acuity of judgment. We have already
+mentioned his epistolary relation with Spinoza, and have said
+something about the controversy with Leibnitz, into which, in spite of
+his disinclination to controversy generally, he was drawn by the
+circumstances of the time and the solicitation of friends. Another
+great thinker of the century with whom he was brought into intimate
+relationship was Des Cartes, the distinguished philosopher. In fact,
+Des Cartes's system of thought influenced Stensen not a little, and he
+felt, when describing the function of muscles in the human body, and
+especially when he demonstrated that the heart was a muscle, that the
+mechanical notions he was thus introducing into anatomy were likely to
+prove confirmatory of Des Cartes's philosophic speculations. Almost
+more than any other, Stensen was the father of many ideas that have
+since become common, with regard to the physics of the human body and
+its qualities as a machine.
+</p>
+<p>
+With his breadth of view, from familiarity <a name="162">{162}</a> with the progress of
+science generally in his time, Steno's discussions of the reason for
+the lack of exact knowledge and for the prevalence of error, in spite
+of enthusiastic investigation, are worth while appreciating. He
+considered that the reason why so many portions of natural science are
+still in doubt is that in the investigation of natural objects no
+careful distinction is made between what is known to a certainty and
+what is known only with a certain amount of assurance. He discusses
+the question of deductive and inductive science, and considers that
+even those who depend on experience will not infrequently be found in
+error, because their conclusions are wider than their premises, and
+because it only too often happens that they admit principles as true
+for which they have no sure evidence. Stensen considered it important,
+therefore, not to hurry on in the explanation of things, but, so far
+as possible, to cling to old-time principles that had been universally
+accepted, since nearly always these would be found to contain fruitful
+germs of truth.
+</p>
+<p>
+He was universally acknowledged as one of the greatest original
+thinkers of his time, and his conversion to the Church did much to
+dissipate religious prejudices among those of German nationality. His
+influence over distinguished visitors who came to Florence, and who
+were very glad to have the opportunity of making his acquaintance, was
+such that not a few Northern visitors became, like himself, converts
+to the Church.
+</p>
+<a name="163">{163}</a>
+<p>
+It was in the midst of this that the request of the Duke of Hanover
+came that he should consent to become the bishop of his capital city.
+It was only after Stensen had been put under holy obedience that he
+would consent to accept the proffered dignity. His first thought was
+to distribute all his goods among the poor, and betake himself even
+without shoes on his feet, on a pedestrian journey to Rome. First,
+however, he made a pilgrimage to Loretto, where he arrived so overcome
+by the fatigue of the journey that the clergyman who took care of him
+while there, insisted on his accepting a pair of shoes from him,
+though he could not prevail upon him to travel in any other way than
+on foot.
+</p>
+<p>
+His first action, after his consecration as bishop, was to write a
+letter, sending his episcopal benediction to Sister Maria Flavia, to
+whom he felt he owed the great privilege of his life. His lasting
+sense of satisfaction and consolation in his change of religion may be
+appreciated from what is, perhaps, the most interesting personal
+document that we have from Stensen's own hand, in which, on the
+eighteenth anniversary of his conversion, he writes to a friend to
+describe his feelings. "To-morrow," he says, "I shall finish, God
+willing, the eighteenth year of my happy life as a member of the
+Church. I wish to acknowledge once more my thankfulness for the part
+which you took under God in my conversion. As I hope to have the grace
+to be grateful to Him forever, so I sigh for the opportunity to
+express <a name="164">{164}</a> my thankfulnes to you and your family. I can feel that
+my own ingratitude toward God, my slowness in His service, make me
+unworthy of His graces; but I hope that you who have helped me to
+enter his service will not cease to pray, so that I may obtain pardon
+for the past and grace for the future, in order in some measure to
+repay all the favors that have been conferred on me."
+</p>
+<p>
+The distinguishing characteristic of his life as a bishop was his
+insistence on poverty as the principal element of his existence. He
+refused to enter his diocese in state in the carriage which the Duke
+offered to provide for him, but proceeded there on foot. No question
+of supposed dignity could make him employ a number of servants, and
+his only retainers were converts made by himself, who helped in the
+household and whom he treated quite as equals. He became engaged in
+one controversy on religious matters, but said that he did not
+consider that converts had ever been made by controversies. He
+compared it, indeed, to the gladiatorial contests in which the
+contestants had their heads completely enveloped in armor, so as to
+prevent any possible penetration of the weapons of an opponent. He
+insisted especially that in religious controversies the contending
+parties do not realize the significance given to words by each other,
+and that therefore no good can result.
+</p>
+<p>
+After a time, Stensen did not find his work in Hamburg very
+satisfactory, because it was typically a missionary country, and the
+Jesuit <a name="165">{165}</a> missionaries who had been introduced were accomplishing
+all that could be hoped for. Accordingly, when the Duke of
+Mecklenburg-Schwerin became a convert to the Catholic Church, and
+asked that Stensen should be sent as a bishop into his dukedom, the
+request was complied with. Here, in the hardest kind of labor as a
+missionary, and in the midst of poverty that was truly apostolic,
+Stensen worked out the remaining years of his life. At his death he
+was looked upon as almost a saint. Notwithstanding his close
+relationship with two reigning princes, he did not leave enough
+personal effects to defray the expenses of his funeral. Besides his
+bishop's ring, and the very simple episcopal cross he wore, he had
+nothing of any value except some relics of St. Francis Xavier, St.
+Ignatius Loyola, and St. Philip Neri, which he had prized above all
+other treasures.
+</p>
+<p>
+His missionary labors had not been marked by any very striking success
+in the number of converts made. In this his life would seem to have
+been a bitter personal disappointment. He never looked upon it as
+such, however, but continued to be eminently cheerful and friendly
+until the end. As a matter of fact, the influence of his career was to
+be felt much more two centuries after his death than during his
+lifetime. At the present moment, his life is well known in northern
+Germany, thanks to the biographic sketch written by Father Plenkers
+for the <i>Stimmen aus Maria Laach</i>, which has been very widely <a name="166">{166}</a>
+circulated since its appearance in 1884. Something of the reaction
+among scientific minds in Germany toward a healthier orthodoxy of
+feeling, with regard to great religious questions, is undoubtedly due
+to the spread of the knowledge of the career of the great anatomist
+and geologist who gave up his scientific work for the sake of the
+spread of the higher truth.
+</p>
+<p>
+After his death the Medici family asked for and obtained the privilege
+of having his body buried in San Lorenzo at Florence, with the members
+of the princely Medici house. More and more do visitors realize that
+the tablet over his remains chronicles the death of a man who was
+undoubtedly one of the world's great scientists, and one of the most
+original thinkers of his time, and that time a period greatly fertile
+in the history of science.
+</p>
+<br>
+<a name="167">{167}</a>
+<br>
+
+<h2>VII.
+<br><br>
+ABBÉ HAÜY, FATHER OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHY.</h2>
+<br>
+
+<a name="168">{168}</a>
+<br>
+<p>
+They continue this day as they were created, perfect in number and
+measure and weight, and from the ineffaceable characters impressed on
+them we may learn that those aspirations after accuracy in
+measurement, truth in statement, and justice in action, which we
+reckon among our noblest attributes as men, are ours because they are
+essential constituents of the image of Him who in the beginning
+created not only heaven and earth, but the materials of which heaven
+and earth consist.--CLERK MAXWELL <i>On the Molecule</i>, "Nature," Vol.
+VIII. 1873.
+</p>
+<br>
+<p align=center>
+<img style="width: 360px; height: 472px;" alt=""
+     src="images/168p.jpg" border=1>
+<br>
+RÉNÉ JUST HAÜY
+</p>
+<br><br>
+<a name="169">{169}</a>
+<br>
+
+<h2>VII.
+<br><br>
+ABBÉ HAÜY, FATHER OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHY</h2>
+<p class="footnote">
+  [Footnote 13: "Haüy" is pronounced a-ue (Century Dictionary), Nearly
+  Represented By <i>ah-we</i>.]
+</p>
+<p>
+Modern learning is gradually losing something of the self-complacency
+that characterized it in so constantly harboring the thought that the
+most important discoveries in physical science came in the nineteenth
+century. A more general attention to critical history has led to the
+realization that many of the primal discoveries whose importance made
+the development of modern science possible, came in earlier centuries,
+though their full significance was not then fully appreciated. The
+foundations of most of our modern sciences were, indeed, laid in the
+eighteenth century, but some of them came much earlier. It is genius
+alone that is able to break away from established traditions of
+knowledge, and, stepping across the boundary into the unknown, blaze a
+path along which it will be easy for subsequent workers to follow.
+Only in recent years has the due meed of appreciation for these great
+pioneers become part of the precious traditions of scientific
+knowledge.
+</p>
+<p>
+We have seen that clergymen were great original investigators in
+science in the older times and we shall find, though it may be a
+source of <a name="170">{170}</a> astonishment to most people that even our modern
+science has had some supreme original workers, during the last two
+centuries, in the ranks of the Catholic clergy.
+</p>
+<p>
+The eighteenth century was not behind the seventeenth in original
+contributions made to science by clergymen. About the middle of the
+century, a Premonstratensian monk, Procopius Dirwisch by name, of the
+little town of Prenditz in Bohemia, demonstrated the identity of
+electrical phenomena with lightning, thus anticipating the work of our
+own Franklin. Dirwisch dared to set up a lightning-conductor, by which
+during thunderstorms he obtained sparks from clouds, and also learned
+to appreciate the danger involved in this experiment. When, in 1751,
+he printed his article on this subject, he pointed out this danger.
+His warning, however, was not always heeded, and at least one
+subsequent experimenter was struck dead by a charge of electricity.
+</p>
+<p>
+Just at the junction of the last two centuries, Father Piazzi enriched
+the realm of science by one of the most important of modern
+discoveries in astronomy. On the night of 31 December, 1800--1
+January, 1801, he discovered the little planet Ceres. This was the
+first of the asteroids, so many more of which were to be revealed to
+astronomical study during the next half-century. Father Piazzi's
+discovery was made, not by accident, but as the result of detailed
+astronomical work of the most painstaking character. He <a name="171">{171}</a> had set
+out to make a map of the heavens, and to determine and locate the
+absolute position of all the visible stars. He had succeeded in
+cataloguing over 7,000 stars when his attention was called to one,
+hitherto supposed to be fixed, which he found had moved, during the
+interval between two observations, from its original position. He made
+still other observations, and thus determined the fact that it was a
+planetoid and not a fixed star with which he had to deal. Needless to
+say, his discovery proved a strong incentive to patient astronomical
+study of the same kind; and it is to these, rather than to great
+single discoveries, that we owe whatever progress in astronomy was
+made during the nineteenth century.
+</p>
+<p>
+Contemporary with both of these last-mentioned men, and worthy to
+share in the scientific honors that were theirs, was the Abbé Haüy,
+who toward the end of the second half of the eighteenth century
+founded the science of crystallography; made a series of observations
+the value of which can never be disputed, originated theories some of
+which have served down to our own time as the basis of crystal
+knowledge, and attracted the attention of many students to the new
+science because of his charming personal character and his winning
+teaching methods. His life is a typical example of the value of work
+done in patient obscurity, founded on observation, and not on
+brilliant theories; and what he accomplished stamps him as one of the
+great <a name="172">{172}</a> scientific geniuses of all time--one of the men who
+widened the bounds of knowledge in directions hitherto considered
+inaccessible to the ordinary methods of human investigation.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is a commonplace of the lecturer on popular science at the present
+day, that the impulse to the development of our modern scientific
+discoveries which became so marked toward the end of the eighteenth
+century, was due in a noteworthy degree to the work of the French
+Encyclopedists. Their bringing together of all the details of
+knowledge in a form in which it could be readily consulted, and in
+which previous progress and the special lines of advance could be
+realized, might be expected to prove a fruitful source of suggestive
+investigation. As a matter of fact, however, a detailed knowledge of
+the past in science often seems to be rather a hindrance than a help
+to original genius, always prone to take its own way if not too much
+disturbed by the conventional knowledge already gained. Most of the
+great discoverers in science were comparatively young men when they
+began their careers as original investigators; and it was apparently
+their freedom from the incubus of too copious information that left
+their minds untrammelled to follow their own bent in seeking for
+causes where others had failed to find any hints of possible
+developments.
+</p>
+<p>
+This was certainly the case with regard to many of those distinguished
+founders who lived in centuries prior to the nineteenth. Most of <a name="173">{173}</a>
+them were men under thirty years of age, and not one of them had been
+noted, before he began his own researches, for the extent of his
+knowledge in the particular department of science in which his work
+was to prove so fruitful. Their lives illustrate the essential
+difference there is between theory and observation in science. The
+theorizer reaches conclusions that are popular as a rule in his own
+generation, and receives the honor due to a progressive scientist; the
+observer usually has his announcements of what he has actually seen
+scouted by those who are engaged in the same studies, and it is only
+succeeding generations who appreciate how much he really accomplished.
+</p>
+<p>
+This was especially exemplified in the case of the Abbé Haüy, whose
+work in crystallography was to mean so much. What he learned was not
+from books, but from contact with the actual objects of his department
+of science; and it is because the example of a life like this can
+scarcely fail to serve a good purpose for the twentieth-century
+student, in impressing the lesson of the value of observation as
+opposed to theory, that its details are retold.
+</p>
+<p>
+Réné Just Haüy was born 28 February, 1743, in the little village of
+Saint-Just, in the Department of Oise, somewhat north of the center of
+France. Like many another great genius, he was the son of very poor
+parents. His father was a struggling linen-weaver, who was able to
+support himself only with difficulty. At first <a name="174">{174}</a> there seemed to
+be no other prospect for his eldest son than to succeed to his
+father's business. Certainly there seemed to be no possibility that he
+should be able to gain his livelihood by any other means than by the
+work of his hands.
+</p>
+<p>
+Fortunately, however, there was in Haüy's native town a
+Premonstratensian monastery, and it was not long before some of the
+monks began to notice that the son of the weaver was of an especially
+pious disposition and attended church ceremonies very faithfully. The
+chance was given to him to attend the monastery school, and he
+succeeded admirably in his studies. As a consequence, the prior had
+his attention directed to the boy, and found in him the signs of a
+superior intelligence. He summoned the lad's parents and discussed
+with them the possibility of obtaining for their son an education.
+There were many difficulties in the way, but the principal one was
+their absolute financial inability to help him. If the son was to
+obtain an education, it must be somehow through his own efforts, and
+without any expense to his parents.
+</p>
+<p>
+The prior thereupon obtained for young Haüy a position as a member of
+a church choir in Paris; and, later, some of those to whom he had
+recommended the boy secured for him a place in the college of Navarre.
+Here, during the course of a few years, he made such an impression
+upon the members of the faculty that they asked him to become one of
+the teaching corps of the institution. It was a very modest position
+that he <a name="175">{175}</a> held, and his salary scarcely more than paid for his
+board and clothes and a few books. Haüy was well satisfied, however,
+because his position provided him with opportunities for pursuing the
+studies for which he cared most. At this time he was interested mainly
+in literature, and succeeded in learning several languages, which were
+to be of considerable use to him later on in his scientific career.
+</p>
+<p>
+After some years spent in the college of Navarre he was ordained
+priest, and not long afterward became a member of the faculty of the
+college of Cardinal Lemoine. Here his position was somewhat better,
+and he was brought in contact with many of the prominent scholars of
+Paris. He seems, however, to have been quite contented in his rather
+narrow circle of interests, and was not specially anxious to advance
+himself. It is rather curious to realize that a man who was later to
+spend all his time in the pursuit of the physical sciences, knew
+practically nothing at all about them, and certainly had no special
+interest in any particular branch of science, until he reached the age
+of almost thirty years.
+</p>
+<p>
+Even then his first introduction to serious science did not come
+because of any special interest that had been aroused in his own mind,
+but entirely because of his friendship for a distinguished old
+fellow-professor, whose walks he used to share, and who was deeply
+interested in botany. This was the Abbé Lhomond, a very <a name="176">{176}</a>
+well-known scholar, to whom we owe a number of classic text-books
+arranged especially for young folk.
+</p>
+<p>
+The Abbé's recreation consisted in botanizing expeditions; and Haüy,
+who had chosen the kindly old priest as his spiritual director, was
+his most frequent companion. Occasionally, when M. Lhomond was ailing,
+and unable to take his usual walks, Haüy spent the time with him. He
+rather regretted the fact that he did not know enough about botany to
+be able to make collections of certain plants to bring to the
+professor at such times, in order that the latter might not entirely
+miss his favorite recreation. Accordingly, one summer when he was on
+his vacation at his country home, he asked one of the
+Premonstratensian monks, who was very much interested in botany, to
+teach him the principles of the science, so as to enable him to
+recognize various plants. Of course his request was granted. He
+expected to have a pleasant surprise for Abbé Lhomond on his return,
+and to draw even closer in his friendly relations with him, because of
+their mutual interest in what the old Abbé called his <i>scientia
+amabilis</i> (lovely science). His little plan worked to perfection, and
+there was won for the study of physical science a new recruit, who was
+to do as much as probably any one of his generation to extend
+scientific knowledge in one department, though that department was
+rather distant from botany.
+</p>
+<p>
+Haüy's interest in botany, however, was to <a name="177">{177}</a> prove only temporary.
+It brought him in contact with other departments of natural history,
+and it was not long before he found that his favorite study was that
+of minerals, and especially of the various forms of crystals. So
+absorbed did he become in this subject that nothing pleased him better
+than the opportunity to spend long days in the investigation of the
+comparative size and shape of the crystals in the museum at Paris. A
+friend has said of him that, whether they were the most precious
+stones and gems or the most worthless specimens of ordinary minerals,
+it was always only their crystalline shape that interested Haüy.
+Diamonds he studied, but only in order to determine their angles; and
+apparently they had no more attraction for him than any other
+well-defined crystal--much less, indeed, than some of the more complex
+crystalline varieties, which attracted his interest because of the
+difficulty of the problems they presented.
+</p>
+<p>
+Like many another advance in science, Haüy's first great original step
+in crystallography was the result of what would be called a lucky
+accident. These accidents, however, be it noted, happen only to
+geniuses who are capable of taking advantage of them. How many a man
+had seen an apple fall from a tree before this little circumstance
+gave Newton the hint from which grew, eventually, the laws of gravity!
+Many a man, doubtless, had seen little boys tapping on logs of wood,
+to hear how well sound was <a name="178">{178}</a> carried through a solid body, without
+getting from this any hint, such as Laennec derived from it, for the
+invention of the stethoscope. So, too, many a person before Haüy's
+time had seen a crystal fall and break, leaving a smooth surface,
+without deriving any hint for the explanation of the origin of
+crystals.
+</p>
+<p>
+According to the familiar story, Haüy was one day looking over a
+collection of very fine crystals in the house of Citizen Du Croisset,
+Treasurer of France. He was examining an especially fine specimen of
+calcspar, when it fell from his hands and was broken. Of course the
+visitor was much disturbed by this accident. His friend, however, in
+order to show him that he was not at all put out at the breaking of
+the crystal, insisted on Haüy's taking it with him for purposes of
+study, as they had both been very much interested in the perfectly
+smooth plane of the fracture. As Haüy himself says, this broken
+portion had a peculiarly brilliant lustre, "polished, as it were by
+nature," as beautifully as the outer portions of the crystal; thus
+demonstrating that in building up of so large a crystal there must
+have been certain steps of progress, at any of which, were the
+formation arrested, smooth surfaces would be found.
+</p>
+<p>
+On taking the crystal home, Haüy proceeded further to break up the
+smaller fragment; and he soon found that he could remove slice after
+slice of it, until there was no trace of the original prism, but in
+place of it a rhomboid, <a name="179">{179}</a> perfectly similar to Iceland spar, and
+lying in the middle of what was the original prism. This fact seemed
+to him very important. From it he began the development of a theory of
+crystallization, using this observation as the key. Before this time
+it had been hard for students of mineralogy to understand how it was
+that substances of the same composition might yet have what seemed to
+be different crystalline forms. Calcspar, for instance, might be found
+crystallized in forms, apparently, quite at variance with one another.
+</p>
+<p>
+By his studies, however, Haüy was able to determine that whenever
+substances of the same composition crystallized, even though the
+external form of the crystals seemed to be different, all of them were
+found to have the same internal nucleus. Whenever the mineral under
+observation was chemically different from another, then the nucleus
+also had a distinctive character; and so there came the law that all
+substances of the same kind crystallized in the same way,
+notwithstanding apparent differences. Indeed, one of the first results
+of this law was the recognition of the fact that when the crystalline
+forms of two minerals were essentially different, then, no matter how
+similar they might be, there was sure to be some chemical difference.
+This enabled Haüy to make certain prophecies with regard to the
+composition of minerals.
+</p>
+<p>
+A number of different kinds of crystals had been classed together
+under the name of <a name="180">{180}</a> heavyspar. Some of these could not, by the
+splitting process, be made to produce <i>nuclei</i> of similar forms, and
+the angles of the crystals were quite different. Haüy insisted that,
+in spite of close resemblances, there was an essential distinction in
+the chemical composition of these two different crystalline
+formations; and before long careful investigation showed that, while
+many of the specimens called heavyspar contain barium, some of them
+contain a new substance--strontium--which had been very little
+studied heretofore. This principle did not prove to be absolute in its
+application; but the amount of truth in it attracted attention to the
+subject of crystallography because of the help which that science
+would afford in the easy recognition of the general chemical
+composition of mineral substances. The most important part of Haüy's
+work was the annunciation of the law of symmetry. He emphasized the
+fact that the forms of crystals are not irregular or capricious, but
+are very constant and definite, and founded on absolutely fixed and
+ascertainable laws. He even showed that, while from certain
+crystalline nuclei sundry secondary forms may be derived, there are
+other forms that cannot by any possibility occur. Any change of
+crystalline form noticed in his experiments led to a corresponding
+change along all similar parts of the crystal. The angles, the edges,
+the faces, were modified in the same way, at the same time. All these
+elements of mensuration within the crystal Haüy thought could be
+indicated by rational coefficients.
+</p>
+<a name="181">{181}</a>
+<p>
+Crystallography, however, did not absorb all Haüy's attention. He
+further demonstrated his intellectual power by following out other
+important lines of investigation that had been suggested by his study
+of crystals. It is to him more than to any other, for instance, that
+is due the first steps in our knowledge of pyro-(or thermo-)
+electricity. Mr. George Chrystal, professor of mathematics at the
+University of St. Andrews, in the article on electricity written for
+the ninth edition of the Encyclopedia, says it was reserved for the
+Abbé Haüy in his Treatise on Mineralogy to throw a clear light on this
+curious branch of the science of electricity.
+</p>
+<p>
+To those who are familiar with the history of the development of this
+science it will be no surprise to find a clergyman playing a prominent
+role in its development. During the days of the beginning of
+electricity many ecclesiastics seem to have been particularly
+interested in the curious ways of electrical phenomena, and as a
+consequence they are the original discoverers of some of the most
+important early advances. Not long before this, Professor Gordon, a
+Scotch Benedictine monk who was teaching at the University of Erfurt,
+constructed the first practical electrical machine. Kleist, who is one
+of the three men to whom is attributed the discovery of the principle
+of storing and concentrating electricity, and who invented the Leyden
+Jar, which was named after the town where it was first manufactured,
+was also a member of a Religious Order. As <a name="182">{182}</a> we have already
+stated, Dirwisch, the Premonstratensian monk, set up a
+lightning-conductor by which he obtained sparks from the clouds even
+before our own Franklin.
+</p>
+<p>
+Abbé Haüy was only following a very common precedent, then, when he
+succeeded by his original research in setting the science of
+pyro-electricity firmly on its feet. It is true, others before him had
+noted that substances like tourmaline possessed electrical properties.
+There is even some good reason for thinking that the <i>lyncurium</i> of
+the ancients which, according to certain of the Greek philosophers,
+especially Theophrastus, who seems to have made a close study of the
+subject, attracted light bodies, was really our modern tourmaline. In
+modern times the Dutch found this mineral in Ceylon and, because it
+attracted ashes and other light substances to itself, called it
+<i>aschentriker</i>--that is, attractor of ashes. Others had still further
+experimented with this curious substance and its interesting
+electrical phenomena. It remained for Abbé Haüy, however, to
+demonstrate the scientific properties of tourmaline and the relations
+which its electrical phenomena bore toward the crystalline structure
+of the mineral. He showed that the electricity of tourmaline decreases
+rapidly from the summits or poles toward the middle of the crystal. As
+a matter of fact, at the middle of the crystal its electrical power
+becomes imperceptible.
+</p>
+<p>
+He showed also that each particle of a crystal <a name="183">{183}</a> that exhibits
+pyro-electricity is itself a source of the same sort of electricity
+and exhibits polarity. His experimental observations served to prove
+also that the pyro-electric state has an important connexion with the
+want of symmetry in the crystals of the substances that exhibit this
+curious property. In tourmaline, for instance, he found the vitreous
+charge always at the summit of the crystal which had six faces, and
+the resinous electricity at the summit of the crystal with three
+faces.
+</p>
+<p>
+His experiments soon showed him, too, that there were a number of
+other substances, besides tourmaline, which possessed this same
+electrical property when subjected to heat in the crystalline stage.
+Among these were the Siberian and Brazilian topaz, borate of magnesia,
+mesotype, sphene, and calamine. In all of these other pyro-electrical
+crystals, Haüy detected a corresponding deviation from the rules of
+symmetry in their secondary crystals to that which occurs in
+tourmaline. In a word, after he had concluded his experiments and
+observations there was very little left for others to add to this
+branch of science, although such distinguished men as Sir David
+Brewster in England were among his successors in the study of the
+peculiar phenomena of pyro-electricity.
+</p>
+<p>
+It may naturally enough be thought that, born in the country, of poor
+parents, and compelled to work for his living, Haüy would at least
+have the advantage of rugged health to help him in his <a name="184">{184}</a> career.
+He had been a delicate child, however; and his physical condition
+never improved to such an extent as to inure him to hardships of any
+kind. One of his biographers has gone so far as to say that his life
+was one long malady. The only distraction from his almost constant
+suffering was his studies. Yet this man lived to be nearly eighty
+years of age, and accomplished an amount of work that might well be
+envied even by the hardiest.
+</p>
+<p>
+In the midst of his magnificent success as a scientist, Haüy was
+faithful to all his obligations as a priest. His name was known
+throughout Europe, and many of the scientific societies had considered
+that they were honoring themselves by conferring titles, or degrees,
+upon him; but he continued to be the humble, simple student that he
+had always been.
+</p>
+<p>
+At the beginning of the Revolution, Abbé Haüy was among the priests
+who refused the oath which the Republican government insisted on their
+taking, and which so many of them considered derogatory to their duty
+as churchmen. Those who refused were thrown into prison, Haüy among
+them. He did not seem to mind his incarceration much, but he was not a
+little perturbed by the fact that the officers who made the arrest
+insisted on taking his precious papers, and that his crystals were all
+tossed aside and many of them broken. For some time he was kept in
+confinement with a number of other members of the faculty of the
+University, mainly <a name="185">{185}</a> clergymen, in the Seminary of St. Firmin,
+which had been turned into a temporary jail.
+</p>
+<p>
+Haüy did not allow his studies to be entirely interrupted by his
+imprisonment. He succeeded in obtaining permission to have his
+cabinets of crystals brought to his cell, and he continued his
+investigation of them. It was not long before powerful friends, and
+especially his scientific colleague, Gregory St. Hilaire, interested
+themselves in his case, and succeeded in obtaining his liberation.
+When the order for his release came, however, Haüy was engaged on a
+very interesting problem in crystallography, and he refused to
+interrupt his work and leave the prison. It was only after
+considerable persuasion that he consented to go the next morning. It
+may be added that only two weeks later many from this same prison were
+sent to the guillotine.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is rather remarkable that the Revolutionary government, after his
+release, did not disturb him in any way. He was so much occupied with
+his scientific pursuits that he seems to have been considered
+absolutely incapable of antagonizing the government; and, as he had no
+enemies, he was not denounced to the Convention. This was fortunate,
+because it enabled him to pursue his studies in peace. There was many
+another member of the faculty of the University who had not the same
+good fortune. Lavoisier was thrown into prison, and, in spite of all
+the influence that could be brought to bear, the great discoverer of
+oxygen met his death by the guillotine. At least <a name="186">{186}</a> two others of
+the professors in the physical department, Borda and De Lambre, were
+dismissed from their posts. Haüy, though himself a priest who had
+refused to take the oath, and though he continued to exercise his
+religious functions, did not hesitate to formulate petitions for his
+imprisoned scientific friends; yet, because of his well-known
+gentleness of character, this did not result in arousing the enmity of
+any members of the government, or attracting such odious attention as
+might have made his religious and scientific work extremely difficult
+or even prevented it entirely.
+</p>
+<p>
+Notwithstanding the stormy times of the French Revolution and the
+stirring events going on all round him in Paris, Haüy continued to
+study his crystals in order to complete his observations; and then he
+embodied his investigations and his theories in his famous "Treatise
+on Crystallography." This attracted attention not only on account of
+the evident novelty of the subject, but more especially because of the
+very thorough method with which Haüy had accomplished his work. His
+style, says the historian of crystallography, was "perspicuous and
+elegant. The volume itself was noteworthy for its clear arrangement
+and full illustration by figures." In spite of its deficiencies, then
+deficiencies which must exist in any ground-breaking work--this
+monograph has had an enduring influence. Some of the most serious
+flaws in his theory were soon brought to light because of the very
+stimulus afforded by his investigations.
+</p>
+<a name="187">{187}</a>
+<p>
+As to the real value of his treatise, perhaps no better estimate can
+be formed than that given by Cuvier in his collection of historical
+eulogies (Vol. III, p. 155): "In possession of a large collection, to
+which there flowed from all sides the most varied minerals, arranged
+with the assistance of young, enthusiastic, and progressive students,
+it was not long before there was given back to Haüy the time which he
+had apparently wasted over other things. In a few years he raised up a
+wondrous monument, which brought as much glory to France as it did
+somewhat later to himself. After centuries of neglect, his country at
+one bound found itself in the first rank in this department of natural
+science. In Haüy's book are united in the highest degree two qualities
+which are seldom associated. One of these is that it was founded on an
+original discovery which had sprung entirely from the genius of its
+author; and the other is that this discovery is pursued and developed
+with almost unheard-of persistence down even to the least important
+mineral variety. Everything in the work is great, both as regards
+conception and detail. It is as complete as the theory it announces."
+</p>
+<p>
+It was not surprising, then, that, after the death of Professor
+Dolomieu, Haüy should be raised to the chair of mineralogy and made
+director of that department in the Paris Museum of Natural History.
+Here he was to have new triumphs. We have already said that his book
+was noted for the elegance of its style and its perspicuity. <a name="188">{188}</a> As
+the result of this absolute clearness of ideas, and completeness and
+simplicity of expression, Haüy attracted to him a large number of
+pupils. Moreover, all those interested in the science, when they came
+in contact with him, were so charmed by his grace and simplicity of
+manner that they were very glad to attend his lectures and to be
+considered as his personal friends. Among his listeners were often
+such men as La Place, Berthollet, Fourcroy, Lagrange and Lavoisier.
+</p>
+<p>
+It was not long before honors of all kinds, degrees from universities
+and memberships in scientific societies all over Europe, began to be
+heaped upon Haüy. They did not, however, cause any change in the
+manners or mode of life of the simple professor of old times. Every
+day he continued to take his little walks through the city, and was
+very glad to have opportunity to be of assistance to others. He showed
+strangers the way to points of interest for which they inquired,
+whenever it was necessary, obtained entrance cards for them to the
+collection; and not a few of those who were thus enabled to take
+advantage of his kindness failed to realize who the distinguished man
+was to whom they owed their opportunities. His old-fashioned clothing
+still continued to be quite good enough for him, and his modest
+demeanor and simple speech did not betray in any way the distinguished
+scientist he had become.
+</p>
+<p>
+Some idea of the consideration in which the <a name="189">{189}</a> Abbé Haüy was held
+by his contemporaries may be gathered from the fact that several of
+the reigning monarchs of Europe, as well as the heirs apparent to many
+thrones, came at some time or other to visit him, to see his
+collection, and to hear the kindly old man talk on his hobby. There
+was only one other scientist in the nineteenth century--and that was
+Pasteur, toward the end of it--who attracted as much attention from
+royalty. Among Haüy's visitors were the King of Prussia, the Emperor
+of Austria, the Archduke John, as well as the Emperor of Russia and
+his two brothers, Nicholas and Michael, the first of whom succeeded
+his elder brother, Alexander, to the throne, and half a century later
+was ruling Russia during the Crimean War. The Prince Royal of Denmark
+spent a portion of each year for several years with Haüy, being one of
+his intimates, who was admitted to his room while he was confined to
+his bed, and who was permitted to share his personal investigations
+and scientific studies.
+</p>
+<p>
+His most striking characteristic was his suavity toward all. The
+humblest of his students was as sure to receive a kindly reception
+from him, and to have his difficulties solved with as much patience as
+the most distinguished professor in this department. It was said that
+he had students of all classes. The attendants at the normal school
+were invited to visit him at his house, and he permitted them to learn
+all his secrets. When they came to him for a whole <a name="190">{190}</a> day, he
+insisted on taking part in their games, and allowed them to go home
+only after they had taken supper with him. All of them looked upon him
+as a personal friend, and some of them were more confidential with him
+than with their nearest relatives. Many a young man in Paris during
+the troublous times of the Revolutionary period found in the good Abbé
+Haüy not only a kind friend, but a wise director and another father.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is said that one day, when taking his usual walk, he came upon two
+former soldiers who were just preparing to fight a duel and were on
+their way to the dueling ground. He succeeded in getting them to tell
+him the cause of their quarrel, and after a time tempted them to come
+with him into what I fear we should call at the present day a saloon.
+Here, over a glass of wine, he finally persuaded them to make peace
+and seal it effectually. It is hard to reconcile this absolute
+simplicity of character and kindness of heart with what is sometimes
+assumed to be the typical, distant, abstracted, self-centered ways of
+the great scientist.
+</p>
+<p>
+Few men have had so many proofs of the lofty appreciation of great
+contemporaries. Many incidents serve to show how much Napoleon thought
+of the distinguished scholar who had created a new department of
+science and attracted the attention of the world to his splendid work
+at Paris. Not long after he became emperor, Napoleon named him
+Honorary Canon of the <a name="191">{191}</a> Cathedral of Notre Dame; and when he
+founded the Legion of Honor, he made the Abbé one of the original
+members. Shortly after these dignities had been conferred upon him, it
+happened that the Abbé fell ill; and Napoleon, having sent his own
+physician to him, went personally to call on him in his humble
+quarters, saying to the physician: "Remember that you must cure Abbé
+Haüy, and restore him to us as one of the glories of our reign." After
+Napoleon's return from Elba, he told the Abbé that the latter's
+"Treatise on Crystallography" was one of the books that he had
+specially selected to take with him to Elba, to while away the leisure
+that he thought he would have for many years. Abbé Haüy's independence
+of spirit, and his unselfish devotion to his native country, may be
+best appreciated from the tradition that after the return from Elba,
+when there was a popular vote for the confirmation of Napoleon's
+second usurpation, the old scientist voted, No.
+</p>
+<p>
+In spite of his constant labor at his investigations, his uniformly
+regular life enabled him to maintain his health, and he lived to the
+ripe age of over seventy-nine. Toward the end of his career, he did
+not obtain the recognition that his labors deserved. After the
+Restoration, he was not in favor with the new authorities in France,
+and he accordingly lost his position as professor at the University.
+The absolute simplicity of life that he had always maintained now
+stood him in good stead; and, notwithstanding the <a name="192">{192}</a> smallness of
+his income, he did not have to make any change in his ordinary
+routine. Unfortunately, an accidental fall in his room at the
+beginning of his eightieth year confined him to his bed; and then his
+health began to fail very seriously. He died on the 3 June, 1822.
+</p>
+<p>
+He had shown during his illness the same gentleness and humility, and
+even enthusiasm for study whenever it was possible, that had always
+characterized him. While he was confined to his bed he divided his
+time between prayer, attention to the new edition of his works which
+was about to appear, and his interest for the future of those students
+who had helped him in his investigations. Cuvier says of him that "he
+was as faithful to his religious duties as he was in the pursuit of
+his studies. The profoundest speculations with regard to weighty
+matters of science had not kept him from the least important duty
+which ecclesiastical regulations might require of him." There is,
+perhaps, no life in all the history of science which shows so clearly
+how absolutely untrue is the declaration so often made, that there is
+essential opposition between the intellectual disposition of the
+inquiring scientist and those other mental qualities which are
+necessary to enable the Christian to bow humbly before the mysteries
+of religion, acknowledge all that is beyond understanding in what has
+been revealed, and observe faithfully all the duties that flow from
+such belief.
+</p>
+<a name="193">{193}</a>
+<br>
+
+<h2>VIII.
+<br><br>
+ABBOT MENDEL: A NEW OUTLOOK IN HEREDITY.</h2>
+
+
+<p>
+There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers having
+been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one;
+and that, while this planet has gone circling on according to the
+fixed law of gravity from so simple a beginning, endless forms, most
+beautiful and most wonderful, have been and are being evolved.--
+Closing sentence of DARWIN'S <i>Origin of Species</i>.
+</p>
+
+<a name="194">{194}</a>
+<br>
+<p align=center>
+<img style="width: 279px; height: 399px;" alt=""
+     src="images/194p.jpg" border=1>
+<br><br>
+GREGOR MENDEL
+</p>
+<br>
+<a name="195">{195}</a>
+<br>
+
+<h2>VIII.
+<br><br>
+ABBOT MENDEL: A NEW, OUTLOOK IN HEREDITY.</h2>
+<p class="footnote">
+  [Footnote 14: The portrait of Abbot Mendel which precedes this
+  sketch was kindly furnished by the Vicar of the Augustinian
+  Monastery of Brünn. It represents him holding a fuchsia, his
+  favorite flower, and was taken in 1867, just as he was completing
+  the researches which were a generation later to make his name so
+  famous. The portrait has for this reason a very special interest as
+  a human document. We may add that the sketch of Abbot Mendel which
+  appears here was read by the Very Rev. Klemens Janetschek, the
+  Vicar of the Monastery, who suggested one slight change in it, so
+  that it may be said to have had the revision of one who knew him and
+  his environment very well.]
+</p>
+<p>
+Scientific progress does not run in cycles of centuries, and as a rule
+it bears no relationship to the conventional arrangement of years. As
+has been well said--for science a new century begins every second.
+There are interesting coincidences, however, of epoch-making
+discoveries in science corresponding with the beginning of definite
+eras in time that are at least impressive from a mnemonic standpoint,
+if from no other.
+</p>
+<p>
+The very eve of the nineteenth century saw the first definite
+formulation of the theory of evolution. Lamarck, the distinguished
+French biologist, stated a theory of development in nature which,
+although it attracted very little attention <a name="196">{196}</a> for many years after
+its publication, has come in our day to be recognized as the most
+suggestive advance in biology in modern times.
+</p>
+<p>
+As we begin the twentieth century, the most interesting question in
+biology is undoubtedly that of heredity. Just at the dawn of the
+century three distinguished scientists, working in different
+countries, rediscovered a law with regard to heredity which promises
+to be even more important for the science of biology in the twentieth
+century than was Lamarck's work for the nineteenth century. This law,
+which, it is thought, will do more to simplify the problems of
+heredity than all the observations and theories of nineteenth-century
+workers, and which has already done much more to point out the methods
+by which observation, and the lines along which experimentation shall
+be best directed so as to replace elaborate but untrustworthy
+scientific theorizing by definite knowledge, was discovered by a
+member of a small religious community in the little-known town of
+Brünn, in Austria, some thirty-five years before the beginning of the
+present century.
+</p>
+<p>
+Considering how generally, in English-speaking countries at least, it
+is supposed that the training of a clergyman and particularly that of
+a religious unfits him for any such initiative in science, Father
+Mendel's discovery comes with all the more emphatic surprise. There is
+no doubt, however, in the minds of many of the most prominent
+present-day workers in biology that his <a name="197">{197}</a> discoveries are of a
+ground-breaking character that will furnish substantial foundation for
+a new development of scientific knowledge with regard to heredity.
+</p>
+<p>
+Lest it should be thought that perhaps there is a tendency to make
+Father Mendel's discovery appear more important here than it really
+is, because of his station in life, it seems desirable to quote some
+recent authoritative expressions of opinion with regard to the value
+of his observations and the importance of the law he enunciated, as
+well as the principle which he considered to be the explanation of
+that law.
+</p>
+<p>
+In the February number of <i>Harper's Monthly</i> for 1903, Professor
+Thomas Hunt Morgan, Professor of Biology at Bryn Mawr, and one of the
+best known of our American biologists, whose recent work on
+"Regeneration" has attracted favorable notice all over the world,
+calls attention to the revolutionary character of Mendel's discovery.
+He considers that recent demonstrations of the mathematical truth of
+Mendel's Law absolutely confirm Mendel's original observations, and
+the movement thus initiated, in Professor Morgan's eyes, gives the
+final <i>coup de grace</i> to the theory of natural selection. "If," he
+says, "we reject Darwin's theory of natural selection as an
+explanation of evolution, we have at least a new and promising outlook
+in another direction and are in a position to answer the oft-heard but
+unscientific query of those who must cling to some dogma: if you
+reject Darwin, what better have you to offer?"
+</p>
+<a name="198">{198}</a>
+<p>
+Professor Edmund B. Wilson, the Director of the Zoological Laboratory
+of Columbia University, called attention in <i>Science</i> (19 December,
+1902) to the fact that studies in cytology, that is to say,
+observations on the formation, development, and maturation of cells,
+confirm Mendel's principles of inheritance and thus furnish another
+proof of the truth of these principles.
+</p>
+<p>
+Two students working in Professor Wilson's laboratory have obtained
+definite evidence in favor of the cytological explanation of Mendel's
+principles, and have thus made an important step in the solution of
+one of the important fundamental mysteries of cell development in the
+very early life of organisms.
+</p>
+<p>
+In a paper read before the American Academy of Arts and Sciences last
+year, Professor W. E. Castle, of Harvard University, said with regard
+to Mendel's Law of Heredity:--
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  What will doubtless rank as one of the greatest discoveries in the
+  study of biology, and in the study of heredity, perhaps the
+  greatest, was made by Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk, in the garden
+  of his cloister, some forty years ago. The discovery was announced
+  in the proceedings of a fairly well-known scientific society, but
+  seems to have attracted little attention, and to have been soon
+  forgotten. The Darwinian theory then occupied the centre of the
+  scientific stage, and Mendel's brilliant discovery was all but
+  unnoticed for a third of a century. Meanwhile, the discussion
+  aroused by Weissman's germ plasm theory, in particular the idea of
+  the non-inheritance of acquired characters, put the scientific
+  public into a more receptive frame of mind. Mendel's law was
+  rediscovered <a name="199">{199}</a> independently by three different botanists,
+  engaged in the study of plant hybrids--de Vries, Correns, and
+  Tschermak, in the year 1900. It remained, however, for a zoologist,
+  Bateson, two years later, to point out the full importance and the
+  wide applicability of the law. Since then the Mendelian discoveries
+  have attracted the attention of biologists generally.
+  [Footnote 15]
+</p>
+<p class="footnote">
+    [Footnote 15: This paper was originally published in part in the
+    <i>Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences</i>, Vol.
+    xxxviii, No. 18, January, 1903. It may be found complete in
+    <i>Science</i> for 25 September, 1903.]
+</p>
+<p>
+Professor Bateson, whose book on Mendel's "Principles of Heredity" is
+the best popular exposition in English of Mendel's work, says that an
+exact determination of the laws of heredity will probably produce more
+change in man's outlook upon the world and in his power over nature
+than any other advance in natural knowledge that can be clearly
+foreseen. No one has better opportunities of pursuing such work than
+horticulturists and stockbreeders. They are daily witnesses of the
+phenomena of heredity. Their success also depends largely on a
+knowledge of its laws, and obviously every increase in that knowledge
+is of direct and special importance to them.
+</p>
+<p>
+After thus insisting on the theoretic and practical importance of the
+subject, Professor Bateson says:--
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  As regards the Mendelian principles which it is the chief aim of
+  this introduction to present clearly before the reader, it may be
+  said that by the <a name="200">{200}</a> application of those principles we are
+  enabled to reach and deal in a comprehensive manner with phenomena
+  of a fundamental nature, lying at the very root of all conceptions
+  not merely of the physiology of reproduction and heredity, but even
+  of the essential nature of living organisms; and I think that I use
+  no extravagant words when, in introducing Mendel's work to the
+  notice of the Royal Horticultural Society's Journal, I ventured to
+  declare that his experiments are worthy to rank with those which
+  laid the foundation of the atomic laws of chemistry.
+</p>
+<p>
+Professor L. H. Bailey, who is the Director of the Horticultural
+Department at Cornell University and the editor of the authoritative
+<i>Encyclopedia of Horticulture</i>, was one of the first of recent
+scientists to call attention to Mendel's work. It was, we believe,
+because of a reference to Mendel's papers by Bailey that Professor de
+Vries was put on the track of Mendel's discoveries and found that the
+Austrian monk had completely anticipated the work at which he was then
+engaged. In a recent issue of <i>The Independent</i>, of New York,
+Professor Bailey said:--
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  The teaching of Mendel strikes at the root of two or three difficult
+  and vital problems. It presents a new conception of the proximate
+  mechanism of heredity. The hypothesis of heredity that it suggests
+  will focus our attention along new lines, and will, I believe,
+  arouse as much discussion as Weissmann's hypothesis, and it is
+  probable that it will have a wider influence. Whether it expresses
+  the actual means of heredity or not, it is yet much too early to
+  say. But the hypothesis (which Father Mendel evolved in order to
+  explain the reasons for his law as he saw them) is even a <a name="201">{201}</a>
+  greater contribution to science than the so-called Mendel's Law as
+  to the numerical results of hybridization. In the general discussion
+  of evolution Mendel's work will be of the greatest value because it
+  introduces a new point of view, challenges old ideas and opinions,
+  gives us a new theory for discussion, emphasizes the great
+  importance of actual experiments for the solution of many questions
+  of evolution, and then forces the necessity for giving greater
+  attention to the real characters and attributes of plants and
+  animals than to the vague groups that we are in the habit of calling
+  species.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is very evident that a man of whose work so many authorities are
+agreed that it is the beginning of a new era in biology, and
+especially in that most interesting of all questions, heredity, must
+be worthy of close acquaintance. Hence the present sketch of his
+career and personality, as far as they are ascertainable, for his
+modesty, and the failure of the world to recognize his worth in his
+lifetime, have unfortunately deprived us of many details that would
+have been precious.
+</p>
+<p>
+Gregor Johann Mendel was born 27 July, 1822, at Heinzendorf, nor far
+from Odrau, in Austrian Silesia. He was the son of a well-to-do
+peasant farmer, who gave him every opportunity of getting a good
+education when he was young. He was educated at Olmutz, in Moravia,
+and after graduating from the college there, at the age of twenty-one,
+he entered as a novice the Augustinian Order, beginning his novitiate
+in 1843 in the Augustinian monastery Königen-kloster, in Altbrünn. He
+was very successful in <a name="202">{202}</a> his theological studies, and in 1846 he
+was ordained priest. He seems to have made a striking success as a
+teacher, especially of natural history and physics, in the higher
+Realschule in Brünn. He attracted the attention of his superiors, who
+were persuaded to give him additional opportunities for the study of
+the sciences, particularly of biological science, for which he had a
+distinct liking and special talents.
+</p>
+<p>
+Accordingly, in 1851 he went to Vienna for the purpose of doing
+post-graduate work in the natural sciences at the university there.
+During the two years he spent at this institution he attracted
+attention by his serious application to study, but apparently without
+having given any special evidence of the talent for original
+observation that was in him. In 1853 he returned to the monastery in
+Altbrünn, and at the beginning of the school year became a teacher at
+the Realschule in Brünn. He remained in Brünn for the rest of his
+life, dying at the comparatively early age of sixty-two, in 1884.
+During the last sixteen years of his life he held the position of
+abbot of the monastery, the duties of which prevented him from
+applying himself as he probably would have desired, to the further
+investigation of scientific questions.
+</p>
+<p>
+The experiments on which his great discoveries were founded were
+carried out in the garden of the monastery during the sixteen years
+from 1853 to 1868. How serious was his scientific devotion may be
+gathered from the fact that in <a name="203">{203}</a> establishing the law which now
+bears his name, and which was founded on observations on peas, some
+10,000 plants were carefully examined, their various peculiarities
+noted, their ancestry carefully traced, the seeds kept in definite
+order and entirely separate, so as to be used for the study of certain
+qualities in their descendants, and the whole scheme of
+experimentation planned with such detail that for the first time in
+the history of studies in heredity, no extraneous and inexplicable
+data were allowed to enter the problem. Besides his work on plants,
+Mendel occupied himself with other observations of a scientific
+character on two subjects which were at that time attracting
+considerable attention. These were the state and condition of the
+ground-water--a subject which was thought to stand at the basis of
+hygienic principles at the time and which had occupied the attention
+of the distinguished Professor Pettenkofer and the Munich School of
+Hygiene for many years--and weather observations. At that time
+Pettenkofer, the most widely known of sanitary scientists, thought
+that he was able to show that the curve of frequency of typhoid fever
+in the different seasons of the year depended upon the closeness with
+which the ground-water came to the surface. Authorities in hygiene
+generally do not now accept this supposed law, for other factors have
+been found which are so much more important that, if the ground-water
+has any influence, it can be neglected. Mendel's observations in the
+matter <a name="204">{204}</a> were, however, in line with the scientific ideas of the
+time and undoubtedly must be considered of value.
+</p>
+<p>
+The other subject in which Mendel interested himself was meteorology.
+He published in the journal of the Brünn Society of Naturalists a
+series of statistical observations with regard to the weather. Besides
+this he organized in connexion with the Realschule in Brünn a series
+of observation stations in different parts of the country around; and
+at the time when most scientists considered meteorological problems to
+be too complex for hopeful solution, Mendel seems to have realized
+that the questions involved depended rather on the collation of a
+sufficient number of observations and the deduction of definite laws
+from them than on any theoretic principles of a supposed science of
+the weather.
+</p>
+<p>
+The man evidently had a genius for scientific observations. His
+personal character was of the highest. The fact that his fellow-monks
+selected him as abbot of the monastery shows the consideration in
+which he was held for tact and true religious feeling. There are many
+still alive in Brünn who remember him well and cannot say enough of
+his kindly disposition, the <i>fröliche Liebenswürdigkeit</i> (which means
+even more than our personal magnetism), that won for him respect and
+reverence from all. He is remembered, not only for his successful
+discoveries, and not alone by his friends and the fellow-members of
+the Naturalist Society, but by practically all his <a name="205">{205}</a>
+contemporaries in the town; and it is his lovable personal character
+that seems to have most impressed itself on them.
+</p>
+<p>
+He was for a time the president of the Brünn Society of Naturalists,
+while also abbot of the monastery. This is, perhaps, a combination
+that would strike English-speaking people as rather curious, but seems
+to have been considered not out of the regular course of events in
+Austria.
+</p>
+<p>
+Father Mendel's introduction to his paper on plant hybridization,
+which describes the result of the experiments made by him in deducing
+the law which he announces, is a model of simple straightforwardness.
+It breathes the spirit of the loftiest science in its clear-eyed
+vision of the nature of the problem he had to solve, the factors which
+make up the problem, and the experimental observations necessary to
+elucidate it. We reproduce the introductory remarks here from the
+translations made of them by the Royal Horticultural Society of
+England. [Footnote 16] Father Mendel said at the beginning of his
+paper as read 8 February, 1865:--
+</p>
+<p class="footnote">
+    [Footnote 16: The original paper was published in the
+    "Verhandlungen des Naturforscher-Vereins," in Brünn, Abhandlungen,
+    iv, that is, the proceedings of the year 1865, which were
+    published in 1866. Copies of these transactions were exchanged
+    with all the important scientific journals, especially those in
+    connexion with important societies and universities throughout
+    Europe, and the wonder is that this paper attracted so little
+    attention.]
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  Experience of artificial fertilization such as is affected with
+  ornamental plants in order to obtain new variations in color, has
+  led to the experiments, the <a name="206">{206}</a> details of which I am about to
+  discuss. The striking regularity with which the same hybrid forms
+  always reappeared whenever fertilization took place between the same
+  species, induced further experiments to be undertaken, the object of
+  which was to follow up the developments of the hybrid in a number of
+  successive generations of their progeny.
+<br><br>
+  Those who survey the work that has been done in this department up
+  to the present time will arrive at the conviction that among all the
+  numerous experiments made not one has been carried out to such an
+  extent and in such a way as to make it possible to determine the
+  number of different forms under which the offspring of hybrids
+  appear, or to arrange these forms with certainty, according to their
+  separate generations, or to ascertain definitely their statistical
+  relations.
+</p>
+<p>
+These three primary necessities for the solution of the problem of
+heredity--namely, first, the number of different forms under which the
+offspring of hybrids appear; secondly, the arrangement of these forms,
+with definiteness and certainty, as regards their relations in the
+separate generation; and thirdly, the statistical results of the
+hybridization of the plants in successive generations, are the secret
+of the success of Mendel's work, as has been very well said by
+Bateson, in commenting on this paragraph in his work on Mendel's
+"Principles of Heredity." This was the first time that any one had
+ever realized exactly the nature of the problems presented in, their
+naked simplicity. "To see a problem well is more than half to solve
+it," and this proved to be the case with Mendel's straightforward
+vision of the nature of the experiments required for advance in our
+knowledge of heredity.
+</p>
+<a name="207">{207}</a>
+<p>
+While Mendel was beginning his experiments almost absolutely under the
+guidance of his own scientific spirit, and undertaking his series of
+observations in the monastery garden without any reference to other
+work in this line, he knew very well what distinguished botanists were
+doing in this line and was by no means presumptuously following a
+study of the deepest of nature's problems without knowing what others
+had accomplished in the matter in recent years. In the second
+paragraph of his introduction he quotes the men whose work in this
+science was attracting attention, and says that to this object
+numerous careful observers, such a Kölreuter, Gärtner, Herbert, Lecoq,
+Wichura and others, had devoted a part of their lives with
+inexhaustible perseverance.
+</p>
+<p>
+To quote Mendel's own words:--
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  Gärtner, especially in his work, "Die Bastarderzeugung im
+  Pflanzenreiche," [Footnote 17] has recorded very valuable
+  observations; and quite recently Wichura published the results of
+  some profound observations on the hybrids of the willow. That so far
+  no generally applicable law governing the formation and development
+  of hybrids has been successfully formulated can hardly be wondered
+  at by anyone who is acquainted with the extent of the task and can
+  appreciate the difficulties with which experiments of this class
+  have to contend. A final decision can only be arrived at when we
+  shall have before us the results of the changed detailed experiments
+  made on plants belonging to the most diverse orders. It requires
+  some courage indeed to undertake a labor of such far-reaching
+  extent; it appears, however, to be the only right way by which we
+  can finally reach the solution of a question the importance of which
+  can not be overestimated in connexion with the history of the
+  evolution of organic forms.
+<br><br>
+  The paper now presented records the results of such a detailed
+  experiment. This experiment was practically confined to a small
+  plant group, and is now after eight years' pursuit concluded in all
+  essentials. Whether the plan upon which the separate experiments
+  were conducted and carried out was the best suited to attain the
+  desired end is left to the friendly decision of the reader.
+</p>
+<p class="footnote">
+    [Footnote 17: The Production of Hybrids in the Vegetable Kingdom.]
+</p>
+<a name="208">{208}</a>
+<p>
+Mendel's discoveries with regard to peas and the influence of heredity
+on them, were founded on very simple, but very interesting,
+observations. He found that if peas of different colors were taken,
+that is to say, if, for instance, yellow-colored peas were crossed
+with green, the resulting pea seeds were, in the great majority of
+cases, of yellow color. If the yellow-colored peas obtained from such
+crossing were planted and allowed to be fertilized only by pollen from
+plants raised from similar seeds, the succeeding generation, however,
+did not give all yellow peas, but a definite number of yellow and a
+definite number of green. In other words, while there might have been
+expected a permanence of the yellow color, there was really a
+reversion in a number of the plants apparently to the type of the
+grandparent. Mendel tried the same experiment with seeds of different
+shape. Certain peas are rounded and certain others are wrinkled. When
+these were crossed, the next generation <a name="209">{209}</a> consisted of wrinkled
+peas, but the next succeeding generation presented a definite number
+of round peas besides the wrinkled ones, and so on as before. He next
+bred peas with regard to other single qualities, such as the color of
+the seed coat, the inflation or constriction of the pod, as to the
+coloring of the pod, as to the distribution of the flowers along the
+stem, as to the length of the stem, finding always, no matter what the
+quality tested, the laws of heredity he had formulated always held
+true.
+</p>
+<p>
+What he thus discovered he formulated somewhat as follows: In the case
+of each of the crosses the hybrid character, that is, the quality of
+the resultant seed, resembles one of the parental forms so closely
+that the other escapes observation completely or cannot be detected
+with certainty. This quality thus impressed on the next generation,
+Mendel called the dominant quality. As, however, the reversion of a
+definite proportion of the peas in the third generation to that
+quality of the original parent which did not appear in the second
+generation was found to occur, thus showing that, though it cannot be
+detected, it is present, Mendel called it the recessive quality. He
+did not find transitional forms in any of his experiments, but
+constantly observed that when plants were bred with regard to two
+special qualities, one of those qualities became dominant in the
+resultant hybrid, and the other became recessive, that is, present
+though latent and ready to produce its effects upon a definite
+proportion of the succeeding generation.
+</p>
+<a name="210">{210}</a>
+<p>
+Remembering, then, that Mendel means by hybrid the result of the
+crossing of two distinct species, his significant discovery has been
+stated thus: The hybrid, whatever its own character, produces ripe
+germ cells, which bear only the pure character of one parent or the
+other. Thus, when one parent has the character "A," in peas, for
+example, a green color, and the other the character "B," in peas once
+more a yellow color, the hybrid will have in cases of simple dominance
+the character "AB" or "BA," but with the second quality in either case
+not noticeable. Whatever the character of the hybrid may be, that is
+to say, to revert to the example of the peas, whether it be green or
+yellow, its germ cells when mature will bear either the character "A"
+(green), or the character "B" (yellow), but not both.
+</p>
+<p>
+As Professor Castle says: "This perfectly simple principle is known as
+the law of segregation, or the law of the purity of the germ cells. It
+bids fair to prove as fundamental to a right understanding of the
+facts of heredity as is the law of definite proportions in chemistry.
+From it follow many important consequences."
+</p>
+<p>
+To follow this acute observer's work still further by letting the
+crossbreds fertilize themselves, Mendel raised a third generation. In
+this generation were individuals which showed the dominant character
+and also individuals which presented the recessive character. Such an
+observation had of course been made in a good many instances before.
+</p>
+<a name="211">{211}</a>
+<p>
+But Mendel noted--and this is the essence of the new discovery in his
+observations--that in this third generation the numerical proportion
+of dominants to recessives is in the average of a series of cases
+approximately constant--being, in fact, as three to one. With almost
+absolute regularity this proportion was maintained in every case of
+crossing of pairs of characters, quite opposed to one another, in his
+pea plants. In the first generation, raised from his crossbreds, or,
+as he calls them, hybrids, there were seventy-five per cent dominants
+and twenty-five per cent recessives.
+</p>
+<p>
+When these plants were again self-fertilized and the offspring of each
+plant separately sown, a new surprise awaited the observer. The
+progeny of the recessives remained pure recessive; and in any number
+of subsequent generations never produced the dominant type again, that
+is, never reverted to the original parent, whose qualities had failed
+to appear in the second generation. When the seeds obtained by
+self-fertilizing the plants with the dominant characteristics were
+sown, it was found by the test of progeny that the dominants were not
+all of like nature, but consisted of two classes--first, some which
+gave rise to pure dominants; and secondly, others which gave a mixed
+offspring, composed partly of recessives, partly of dominants. Once
+more, however, the ratio of heredity asserted itself and it was found
+that the average numerical proportions were constant--those with pure
+dominant <a name="212">{212}</a> offspring being to those with mixed offspring as one to
+two. Hence, it was seen that the seventy-five per cent of dominants
+are not really of identical constitution, but consist of twenty-five
+per cent which are pure dominants and fifty per cent which are really
+crossbreds, though like most of the crossbreds raised by crossing the
+two original varieties, they exhibit the dominant character only.
+</p>
+<p>
+These fifty crossbreds have mixed offspring; these offspring again in
+their numerical proportion follow the same law, namely, three
+dominants to one recessive. The recessives are pure like those of the
+last generation, but the dominants can, by further self-fertilization
+and cultivation of the seeds produced, be again shown to be made up of
+pure dominant and crossbreds in the same proportion of one dominant to
+two crossbreds.
+</p>
+<p>
+The process of breaking up into the parent forms is thus continued in
+each successive generation, the same numerical laws being followed so
+far as observation has gone. As Mendel's observations have now been
+confirmed by workers in many parts of the world, investigating many
+different kinds of plants, it would seem that this law which he
+discovered has a basis in the nature of things and is to furnish the
+foundation for a new and scientific theory of heredity, while at the
+same time affording scope for the collection of observations of the
+most valuable character with a definite purpose and without any
+theoretic bias.
+</p>
+<a name="213">{213}</a>
+<p>
+The task of the practical breeder who seeks to establish or fix a new
+variety produced by cross-breeding in a case involving two variable
+characters is simply the isolation and propagation of that one in each
+sixteen of the second generation offspring which will be pure as
+regards the desired combination of characters. Mendel's discovery, by
+putting the breeder in possession of this information enables him to
+attack this problem systematically with confidence in the outcome,
+whereas hitherto his work, important and fascinating as it is, has
+consisted largely of groping for a treasure in the dark. The greater
+the number of separately variable characters involved in a cross, the
+greater will be the number of new combinations obtainable; the greater
+too will be the number of individuals which it will be necessary to
+raise in order to secure all the possible combinations; and the
+greater again will be the difficulty of isolating the pure, that is,
+the stable forms in such as are similar to them in appearance, but
+still hybrid in one or more characters.
+</p>
+<p>
+The law of Mendel reduces to an exact science the art of breeding in
+the case most carefully studied by him, that of entire dominance. It
+gives to the breeder a new conception of "purity." No animal or plant
+is "pure," simply because it is descended from a long line of
+ancestors, possessing a desired combination of characters; but any
+animal or plant is pure if it produces <i>gametes</i>--that is, particles
+for conjugation of only one sort--even though its grandparents may
+among <a name="214">{214}</a> themselves have possessed opposite characters. The
+existence of purity can be established with certainty only by suitable
+breeding tests, especially by crossing with recessives; but it may be
+safely assumed for any animal or plant, descended from parents which
+were like each other and had been shown by breeding tests to be pure.
+</p>
+<p>
+This naturally leads us to what some biologists have considered to be
+the most important part of his work--the theory which he elaborated to
+explain his results, the principle which he considers to be the basis
+of the laws he discovered. Mendel suggests as following logically from
+the results of his experiments and observations a certain theory of
+the constitution of germinal particles. He has put this important
+matter so clearly himself and with such little waste of words that it
+seems better to quote the translation of the passage as given by
+Professor Bateson, [Footnote 18] than to attempt to explain it in
+other words. Mendel says:--
+</p>
+<p class="footnote">
+    [Footnote 18: Bateson: <i>Mendel's Principles of Heredity</i>.
+    Cambridge. The University Press. 1902.]
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  The results of the previously described experiments induced further
+  experiments, the results of which appear fitted to afford some
+  conclusions as regards the composition of the egg and pollen-cells
+  of hybrids. An important matter for consideration is afforded in
+  peas (<i>pisum</i>) by the circumstance that among the progeny of the
+  hybrids constant forms appear, and that this occurs, too, in all
+  combinations of the associated characters. So far as experience
+  goes, we find it in every <a name="215">{215}</a> case confirmed that constant progeny
+  can only be formed when the egg-cells and the fertilizing pollen are
+  of like character, so that both are provided with the material for
+  creating quite similar individuals, as is the case with the normal
+  fertilization of pure species.
+<br><br>
+  We must therefore regard it as essential that exactly similar
+  factors are at work also in the production of the constant forms in
+  the hybrid plants. Since the various constant forms are produced in
+  one plant, or even in one flower of a plant, the conclusion appears
+  logical that in the ovaries of the hybrids there are formed as many
+  sorts of egg-cells and in the anthers as many sorts of pollen-cells
+  as there are possible constant combination forms, and that these egg
+  and pollen-cells agree in their internal composition with those of
+  the separate forms.
+<br><br>
+  In point of fact, it is possible to demonstrate theoretically that
+  this hypothesis would fully suffice to account for the development
+  of the hybrids in the separate generations, if we might at the same
+  time assume that the various kinds of egg and pollen-cells were
+  formed in the hybrids on the average in equal numbers.
+</p>
+<p>
+Bateson says in a note on this passage that this last and the
+preceding paragraph contain the essence of the Mendelian principles of
+heredity. Mendel himself, after stating this hypothesis, gives the
+details of a series of experiments by which he was able to decide that
+the theoretic considerations suggested were founded in the nature of
+plants and their germinal cells.
+</p>
+<p>
+It will, of course, be interesting to realize what the bearing of
+Mendel's discoveries is on the question of the stability of species as
+well as on the origin of species. Professor Morgan, in his <a name="216">{216}</a>
+article on Darwinism in the "Light of Modern Criticism," already
+quoted, says the important fact (with regard to Mendel's Law) from the
+point of view of the theory of evolution is that "the new species have
+sprung fully armed from the old ones, like Minerva from the head of
+Jove." "From de Vries's results," he adds, "we understand better how
+it is that we do not see new forms arising, because they appear, as it
+were, fully equipped over night. Old species are not slowly changed
+into new ones, but a shaking up of the old organization takes place
+and the egg brings forth a new species. It is like the turning of the
+kaleidoscope, a slight shift and the new figure suddenly appears. It
+needs no great penetration to see that this point of view is entirely
+different from the conception of the formation of new species by
+accumulating individual variations, until they are carried so far that
+the new form may be called a new species."
+</p>
+<p>
+With regard to this question of the transformation of one species into
+another, Mendel himself, in the concluding paragraphs of his article
+on hybridization, seems to agree with the expressions of Morgan. He
+quotes Gärtner's opinion with apparent approval: "Gärtner, by the
+results of these transformation experiments was led to oppose the
+opinion of those naturalists who dispute the stability of plant
+species and believe in a continuous evolution of vegetation. He
+perceives in the complete transformation of one species into another
+an indubitable proof that <a name="217">{217}</a> species are fixed within limits beyond
+which they cannot change." "Although this opinion," adds Mendel,
+"cannot be unconditionally accepted, we find, on the other hand, in
+Gärtner's experiments a noteworthy confirmation of that supposition
+regarding the variability of cultivated plants which has already been
+expressed." This expression of opinion is not very definite, and
+Bateson, in what Professor Wilson of Columbia calls his "recent
+admirable little book on Mendel's principles," adds the following note
+that may prove of service in elucidating Mendel's meaning, as few men
+have entered so fully into the understanding of Mendel's work as
+Bateson, who introduced him to the English-speaking scientific public,
+"The argument of this paragraph appears to be that though the general
+mutability of natural species might be doubtful, yet among cultivated
+plants the transference of characters may be accomplished and may
+occur by <i>integral steps</i> [italics ours], until one species is
+definitely 'transformed' into the other."
+</p>
+<p>
+Needless to say, this is quite different from the gradual
+transformation of species that Darwinism or Lamarckism assumes to take
+place. One species becomes another <i>per saltum</i> in virtue of some
+special energy infused into it, some original tendency of its
+intrinsic nature, not because of gradual modification by forces
+outside of the organisms, nor because of the combination of influences
+they are subjected to from without and within, because of tendency to
+evolute plus <a name="218">{218}</a> environmental forces. This throws biology back to
+the permanency of species in themselves, though successive generations
+may be of different species, and does away with the idea of missing
+links, since there are no gradual connecting gradations.
+</p>
+<p>
+A very interesting phase of Mendel's discoveries is concerned with the
+relative value of the egg-cell and the pollen-cell, as regards their
+effect upon future generations. It is an old and oft-discussed problem
+as to which of these germinal particles is the more important in its
+influence upon the transmission of parental qualities. Mendel's
+observations would seem to decide definitely that, in plants and, by
+implication, in animals, since the germinal process is biogenetically
+similar, the value of both germinal particles is exactly equal.
+</p>
+<p>
+In a note, Mendel says:--
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  <i>In pisum</i> (i. e. in peas), it is beyond doubt that, for the
+  formation of the new embryo, a perfect union of the elements of both
+  fertilizing cells must take place. How could we otherwise explain
+  that, among the offspring of the hybrids, both original types
+  reappear in equal numbers, and with all their peculiarities? If the
+  influence of the egg-cell upon the pollen-cell were only external,
+  if it fulfilled the role of a nurse only, then the result of each
+  artificial fertilization could be no other than that the developed
+  hybrid should exactly resemble the pollen parent, or, at any rate,
+  do so very closely. These experiments, so far, have in no wise been
+  confirmed. An evident proof of the complete union of the contents of
+  both cells is afforded by the <a name="219">{219}</a> experience gained on all sides,
+  that it is immaterial as regards the form of the hybrid which of the
+  original species is the seed cell, or which the pollen parent!
+</p>
+<p>
+This is the first actual demonstration of the equivalent value of both
+germinal particles as regards their influence on transmission
+inheritance in future generations.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is only by simplifying the problem so that all disturbing factors
+could be eliminated that Mendel succeeded in making this
+demonstration. Too many qualities have hitherto been considered with
+consequent confusion as to the results obtained.
+</p>
+<p>
+It is of the genius of the man that he should have been able to
+succeed in seeing the problem in simple terms while it is apparently
+so complex, and thus obtain results that are as far-reaching as the
+problem they solve is basic in its character.
+</p>
+<p>
+Bateson, in his work Mendel's <i>Principles of Heredity</i>, says:--
+</p>
+<p class="cite">
+  It may seem surprising that a work of such importance should so long
+  have failed to find recognition and to become current in the world
+  of science. It is true that the Journal in which it appeared is
+  scarce, but this circumstance has seldom long delayed general
+  recognition. The cause is unquestionably to be found in that neglect
+  of the experimental study of the problem of species which supervened
+  on the general acceptance of the Darwinian doctrine. The problem of
+  species, as Kölreuter, Gärtner, Naudin, Wichura, and the hybridists
+  of the middle of the nineteenth century conceived it, attracted
+  thenceforth no workers.
+</p>
+<a name="220">{220}</a>
+<p class="cite">
+  The question, it was imagined, had been answered and the debate
+  ended. No one felt much interest in the matter. A host of other
+  lines of work was suddenly opened up, and in 1865 the more original
+  investigators naturally found these new methods of research more
+  attractive than the tedious observations of hybridizers, whose
+  inquiries were supposed, moreover, to have led to no definite
+  results.
+<br><br>
+  In 1868 appeared the first edition of Darwin's <i>Animals and Plants</i>,
+  marking the very zenith of these studies with regard to hybrids and
+  the questions in heredity which they illustrate, and thenceforth the
+  decline in the experimental investigation of evolution and the
+  problem of species have been studied. With the rediscovery and
+  confirmation of Mendel's work by de Vries, Correns and Tschermak in
+  1900 a new era begins. Had Mendel's work come into the hands of
+  Darwin it is not too much to say that the history of the development
+  of evolutionary philosophy would have been very different from that
+  which we have witnessed.
+<br><br>
+  That Mendel's work, appearing as it did at a moment when several
+  naturalists of the first rank were still occupied with these
+  problems, should have passed wholly unnoted, will always remain
+  inexplicable, the more so as the Brünn society exchanged its
+  publication with most of the great academies of Europe, including
+  both the Royal and the Linnean societies of London.
+</p>
+<p>
+The whole history of Mendel's work, its long period without effect
+upon scientific thought, its thoroughly simple yet satisfactory
+character, its basis in manifold observations of problems simplified
+to the last degree, and its present complete acceptance illustrate
+very well the chief defect of the last two generations of workers in
+biology. <a name="221">{221}</a> There has been entirely too much theorizing, too much
+effort at observations for the purpose of bolstering up preconceived
+ideas--preaccepted dogmas of science that have proved false in the
+end--and too little straightforward observation and simple reporting
+of the facts without trying to have them fit into any theory
+prematurely, that is until their true place was found. This will be
+the criterion by which the latter half of nineteenth century biology
+will be judged; and because of failure here much of our supposed
+progress will have no effect on the current of biological progress,
+but will represent only an eddy in which there was no end of bustling
+movement manifest but no real advance.
+</p>
+<p>
+As stated very clearly by Professor Morgan at the beginning of this
+paper, and Professor Bateson near the end, Darwin's doctrine of
+natural selection as the main factor in evolution and its practically
+universal premature acceptance by scientific workers in biology are
+undoubtedly responsible for this. The present generation may well be
+warned, then, not to surrender their judgment to taking theories, but
+to wait in patience for the facts in the case, working, not
+theorizing, while they wait.
+</p>
+<b></b>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Catholic Churchmen in Science, by James J. Walsh
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+Project Gutenberg's Catholic Churchmen in Science, by James J. Walsh
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Catholic Churchmen in Science
+
+Author: James J. Walsh
+
+Release Date: October 13, 2010 [EBook #34067]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CATHOLIC CHURCHMEN IN SCIENCE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Don Kostuch
+
+
+
+
+[Transcriber's note]
+
+  This is derived from a copy on the Internet Archive:
+    http://www.archive.org/details/catholicchurchme008742mbp
+
+  Page numbers in this book are indicated by numbers enclosed in curly
+  braces, e.g. {99}. They have been located where page breaks occurred
+  in the original book.
+
+  Obvious spelling errors have been corrected but "inventive" and
+  inconsistent spelling is left unchanged.
+
+  Extended quotations and citations are indented.
+
+  Footnotes have been renumbered to avoid ambiguity, and relocated
+  to the end of the enclosing paragraph.
+
+[End Transcriber's note]
+
+
+
+CATHOLIC CHURCHMEN IN SCIENCE
+
+
+[FIRST SERIES]
+
+
+SKETCHES OF THE LIVES OF CATHOLIC
+ECCLESIASTICS WHO WERE AMONG
+THE GREAT FOUNDERS IN SCIENCE
+
+By
+
+JAMES J. WALSH, K.ST.G., M.D., PH.D., LITT.D.
+
+_Dean and Professor of Medicine and of Nervous Diseases
+at Fordham University School of Medicine; Professor
+of Physiological Psychology in the Cathedral College, New York;
+Member of A.M.A., N.Y. State Med. Soc.,
+A.A.A.S., Life Mem of N.Y. Historical Society._
+
+
+
+SECOND EDITION
+
+
+
+PHILADELPHIA
+
+American Ecclesiastical Review
+
+The Dolphin Press
+
+MCMX.
+
+
+
+COPYRIGHT. 1906, 1910
+
+American Ecclesiastical Review
+
+The Dolphin Press
+
+
+
+"A sorrow's crown of sorrow."
+
+
+
+THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED TO THE
+MEMORY OF MY MOTHER
+
+{vii}
+
+PREFACE.
+
+The following sketches of the lives of clergymen who were great
+scientists have appeared at various times during the past five years
+in Catholic magazines. They were written because the materials for
+them had gradually accumulated during the preparation of various
+courses of lectures, and it seemed advisable to put them in order in
+such a way that they might be helpful to others working along similar
+lines. They all range themselves naturally around the central idea
+that the submission of the human reason to Christian belief, and of
+the mind and heart to the authority of the Church, is quite compatible
+with original thinking of the highest order, and with that absolute
+freedom of investigation into physical science, which has only too
+often been said to be quite impossible to churchmen. For this reason
+friends have suggested that they should be published together in a
+form in which they would be more easy of consultation than when
+scattered in different periodicals. It was urged, too, that they would
+thus also be more effective for the cause which they uphold. This
+friendly suggestion has been yielded to, whether justifiably or not
+the reader must decide for himself. There is so great a flood of
+books, good, bad, and indifferent, ascribing their existence to the
+advice of well-meaning friends, that we poor authors are evidently not
+in a position to judge for ourselves of the merit of our works or of
+the possible interest they may arouse.
+
+{viii}
+
+I have to thank the editors of the _American Catholic Quarterly
+Review_, of the _Ave Maria_, and of _The Ecclesiastical Review_ and
+_The Dolphin_, for their kind permission to republish the articles
+which appeared originally in their pages. All of them, though
+substantially remaining the same, have been revised, modified in a
+number of particulars, and added to very considerably in most cases.
+
+The call for a second edition--the third thousand--of this little
+book is gratifying. Its sale encouraged the preparation of a Second
+Series of CATHOLIC CHURCHMEN IN SCIENCE, and now the continued demand
+suggests a Third Series, which will be issued during the year. Some
+minor corrections have been made in this edition, but the book is
+substantially the same.
+
+{ix}
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+                                                                PAGE
+
+PREFACE                                                           ix
+
+I.    THE SUPPOSED OPPOSITION OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION              3
+
+II.   COPERNICUS AND HIS TIMES                                    15
+
+III.  BASIL VALENTINE. FOUNDER OF MODERN CHEMISTRY                45
+
+IV.   LINACRE: SCHOLAR, PHYSICIAN, PRIEST                         79
+
+V.    FATHER KIRCHER, S.J. SCIENTIST, ORIENTALIST, AND COLLECTOR  111
+
+VI.   BISHOP STENSEN: ANATOMIST AND FATHER OF GEOLOGY            137
+
+VII.  ABBE HAUeY: FATHER OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHY                       169
+
+VIII. ABBOT MENDEL: A NEW OUTLOOK IN HEREDITY                    195
+
+
+{x}
+
+{1}
+
+I.
+
+THE SUPPOSED OPPOSITION OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION.
+
+{2}
+
+{3}
+
+I.
+
+THE SUPPOSED OPPOSITION OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION.
+
+A common impression prevails that there is serious, if not invincible,
+opposition between science and religion. This persuasion has been
+minimized to a great degree in recent years, and yet sufficient of it
+remains to make a great many people think that, if there is not entire
+incompatibility between science and religion, there is at least such a
+diversity of purposes and aims in these two great realms of human
+thought that those who cultivate one field are not able to appreciate
+the labors of those who occupy themselves in the other. Indeed, it is
+usually accepted as a truth that to follow science with assiduity is
+practically sure to lead to unorthodoxy in religion. This is supposed
+to be especially true if the acquisition of scientific knowledge is
+pursued along lines that involve original research and new
+investigation. Somehow, it is thought that any one who has a mind free
+enough from the influence of prejudice and tradition to become an
+original thinker or investigator, is inevitably prone to abandon the
+old orthodox lines of thought in respect to religion.
+
+Like a good many other convictions and persuasions that exist more or
+less as {4} commonplaces in the subconscious intellects of a great
+many people, this is not true. Our American humorist said that it is
+not so much the ignorance of mankind that makes him ridiculous as the
+knowing so many things "that ain't so." The supposed opposition
+between science and religion is precisely an apposite type of one of
+the things "that ain't so." It is so firmly fixed as a rule, however,
+that many people have accepted it without being quite conscious of the
+fact that it exists as one of the elements influencing many of their
+judgments--a very important factor in their apperception.
+
+Now, it so happens that a number of prominent original investigators
+in modern science were not only thoroughly orthodox in their religious
+beliefs, but were even faithful clergymen and guiding spirits for
+others in the path of Christianity. The names of those who are
+included in the present volume is the best proof of this. The series
+of sketches was written at various times, and yet there was a central
+thought guiding the selection of the various scientific workers. Most
+of them lived at about the time when, according to an unfortunate
+tradition that has been very generally accepted, the Church dominated
+human thinking so tyrannously as practically to preclude all notion of
+original investigation in any line of thought, but especially in
+matters relating to physical science. Most of the men whose lives are
+sketched lived during the fifteenth, sixteenth, and first half of the
+{5} seventeenth centuries. All of them were Catholic clergymen of high
+standing, and none of them suffered anything like persecution for his
+opinions; all remained faithful adherents of the Church through long
+lives.
+
+It is hoped that this volume, without being in any sense
+controversial, may tend to throw light on many points that have been
+the subject of controversy; and by showing how absolutely free these
+great clergymen-scientists were to pursue their investigations in
+science, it may serve to demonstrate how utterly unfounded is the
+prejudice that would declare that the ecclesiastical authorities of
+these particular centuries were united in their opposition to
+scientific advance.
+
+There is no doubt that at times men have been the subject of
+persecution because of scientific opinions. In all of these cases,
+without exception, however--and this is particularly true of such men
+as Galileo, Giordano Bruno, and Michael Servetus--a little
+investigation of the personal character of the individuals involved in
+these persecutions will show the victims to have been of that
+especially irritating class of individuals who so constantly awaken
+opposition to whatever opinions they may hold by upholding them
+overstrenuously and inopportunely. They were the kind of men who could
+say nothing without, to some extent at least, arousing the resentment
+of those around them who still clung to older ideas. We all know this
+class of individual very well. {6} In these gentler modern times we
+may even bewail the fact that there is no such expeditious method of
+disposing of him as in the olden time. This is not a defence of what
+was done in their regard, but is a word of explanation that shows how
+human were the motives at work and how unecclesiastical the
+procedures, even though church institutions, Protestant and Catholic
+alike, were used by the offended parties to rid them of obnoxious
+argumentators.
+
+In this matter it must not be forgotten that persecution has been the
+very common associate of noteworthy advances in science, quite apart
+from any question of the relations between science and religion. There
+has scarcely been a single important advance in the history of applied
+science especially, that has not brought down upon the devoted head of
+the discoverer, for a time at least, the ill-will of his own
+generation. Take the case of medicine, for instance. Vesalius was
+persecuted, but not by the ecclesiastical authorities. The bitter
+opposition to him and to his work came from his colleagues in
+medicine, who thought that he was departing from the teaching of
+Galen, and considered that a cardinal medical heresy not to be
+forgiven. Harvey, the famous discoverer of the circulation of the
+blood, lost much of his lucrative medical practice after the
+publication of his discovery, because his medical contemporaries
+thought the notion of the heart pumping blood through the arteries to
+be so foolish that they refused to {7} admit that it could come from a
+man of common sense, much less from a scientific physician. Nor need
+it be thought that this spirit of opposition to novelty existed only
+in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Almost in our own time
+Semmelweis, who first taught the necessity for extreme cleanliness in
+obstetrical work, met with so much opposition in the introduction of
+the precautions he considered necessary that he was finally driven
+insane. His methods reduced the mortality in the great lying-in
+hospitals of Europe from nearly ten per cent for such cases down to
+less than one per cent, thus saving many thousands of lives every
+year.
+
+Despite this very natural tendency to decry the value of new
+discoveries in science and the opposition they aroused, it will be
+found that the lives of these clergymen scientists show us that they
+met with much more sympathy in their work than was usually accorded to
+original investigators in science in other paths in life. This is so
+different from the ordinary impression in the matter that it seems
+worth while calling it to particular attention. While we have selected
+lives of certain of the great leaders in science, we would not wish it
+to be understood that these are the only ones among the clergymen of
+the last four centuries who deserve an honorable place high up in the
+roll of successful scientific investigators. Only those are taken who
+illustrate activity in sciences that are supposed to have been
+especially forbidden to clergymen. It {8} has been said over and over
+again, for instance, that there was distinct ecclesiastical opposition
+to the study of chemistry. Indeed, many writers have not hesitated to
+say that there was a bull, or at least a decree, issued by one or more
+of the popes forbidding the study of chemistry. This, is not only not
+true, but the very pope who is said to have issued the decree, John
+XXII, was himself an ardent student of the medical sciences. We still
+possess several books from him on these subjects, and his decree was
+meant only to suppress pseudo-science, which, as always, was
+exploiting the people for its own ends. The fact that a century later
+the foundation of modern chemical pharmacology was laid by a
+Benedictine monk, Basil Valentine, shows how unfounded is the idea
+that the papal decree actually hampered in any way the development of
+chemical investigation or the advance of chemical science.
+
+Owing to the Galileo controversy, astronomy is ordinarily supposed to
+have been another of the sciences to which it was extremely indiscreet
+at least, not to say dangerous, for a clergyman to devote himself. The
+great founder of modern astronomy, however, Copernicus, was not only a
+clergyman, but one indeed so faithful and ardent that it is said to
+have been owing to his efforts that the diocese in which he lived did
+not go over to Lutheranism during his lifetime, as did most of the
+other dioceses in that part of Germany. The fact that Copernicus's
+book was involved in the Galileo trial has rendered his {9} position
+still further misunderstood, but the matter is fully cleared up in the
+subsequent sketch of his life. As a matter of fact, it is in astronomy
+particularly that clergymen have always been in the forefront of
+advance; and it must not be forgotten that it was the Catholic Church
+that secured the scientific data necessary for the correction of the
+Julian Calendar, and that it was a pope who proclaimed the
+advisability of the correction to the world. Down to our own day there
+have always been very prominent clergymen astronomers. One of the best
+known names in the history of the astronomy of the nineteenth century
+is that of Father Piazzi, to whom we owe the discovery of the first of
+the asteroids. Other well-known names, such as Father Secchi, who was
+the head of the papal observatory at Rome, and Father Perry, the
+English Jesuit, might well be mentioned. The papal observatory at Rome
+has for centuries been doing some of the best work in astronomy
+accomplished anywhere, although it has always been limited in its
+means, has had inadequate resources to draw on, and has succeeded in
+accomplishing what it has done only because of the generous devotion
+of those attached to it.
+
+To go back to the Galileo controversy for a moment, there seems no
+better answer to the assertion that his trial shows clearly the
+opposition between religion, or at least ecclesiastical authorities,
+and science, than to recall, as we have done, in writing the
+accompanying sketch of the {10} life of Father Kircher, S.J., that
+just after the trial Roman ecclesiastics very generally were ready to
+encourage liberally a man who devoted himself to all forms of physical
+science, who was an original thinker in many of them, who was a great
+teacher, whose writings did more to disseminate knowledge of advances
+in science than those of any man of his time, and whose idea of the
+collection of scientific curiosities into a great museum at Rome
+(which still bears his name) was one of the fertile germinal
+suggestions in which modern science was to find seeds for future
+growth.
+
+It is often asserted that geology was one of the sciences that was
+distinctly opposed by churchmen; yet we shall see that the father of
+modern geology, one of the greatest anatomists of his time, was not
+only a convert to Catholicity, but became a clergyman about the time
+he was writing the little book that laid the foundation of modern
+geology. We shall see, too, that, far from religion and science
+clashing in him, he afterwards was made a bishop, in the hope that he
+should be able to go back to his native land and induce others to
+become members of that Church wherein he had found peace and
+happiness.
+
+In the modern times biology has been supposed to be the special
+subject of opposition, or at least fear, on the part of ecclesiastical
+authorities. It is for this reason that the life of Abbot Mendel has
+been introduced. While working in {11} his monastery garden in the
+little town of Bruenn in Moravia, this Augustinian monk discovered
+certain precious laws of heredity that are considered by progressive
+twentieth-century scientists to be the most important contributions to
+the difficult problems relating to inheritance in biology that have
+been made.
+
+These constitute the reasons for this little book on Catholic
+clergymen scientists. It is published, not with any ulterior motives,
+but simply to impress certain details of truth in the history of
+science that have been neglected in recent years and, by presenting
+sympathetic lives of great clergymen scientists, to show that not only
+is there no essential opposition between science and religion, but on
+the contrary that the quiet peace of the cloister and of a religious
+life have often contributed not a little to that precious placidity of
+mind which seems to be so necessary for the discovery of great, new
+scientific truths.
+
+
+{12}
+
+II.
+
+COPERNICUS AND HIS TIMES.
+
+
+{13}
+
+All the vast and most progressive systems that human wisdom has
+brought forth as substitutes for religion, have never succeeded in
+interesting any but the learned, the ambitious, or at most the
+prosperous and happy. But the great majority of mankind can never come
+under these categories. The great majority of men are suffering, and
+suffering from moral as well as physical evils. Man's first bread is
+grief, and his first want is consolation. Now which of these systems
+has ever consoled an afflicted heart, or repeopled a lonely one? Which
+of these teachers has ever shown men how to wipe away a tear?
+Christianity alone has from the beginning promised to console man in
+the sorrows incidental to life by purifying the inclinations of his
+heart, and she alone has kept her promise.--MONTALEMBERT,
+Introduction to _Life of St. Elizabeth_.
+
+{14}
+
+
+
+[Illustration: NICOLAO COPERNICO]
+
+
+
+{15}
+
+II.
+
+COPERNICUS AND HIS TIMES.
+
+The association of the name of Copernicus with that of Galileo has
+always cast an air of unorthodoxy about the great astronomer. The
+condemnation of certain propositions in his work on astronomy in which
+Copernicus first set forth the idea of the universe as we know it at
+present, in contradistinction to the old Ptolemaic system of
+astronomy, would seem to emphasize this suspicion of unorthodox
+thinking. He is rightly looked upon as one of the great pioneers of
+our modern physical science, and, as it is generally supposed that
+scientific tendencies lead away from religion, there are doubtless
+many who look upon Copernicus as naturally one of the leaders in this
+rationalistic movement. It is forgotten that scarcely any of the great
+original thinkers have escaped the stigma of having certain
+propositions in some of their books condemned, and that this indeed is
+only an index of the fallibility of the human mind and of the need
+there is for some authoritative teacher. The sentences in Copernicus's
+book requiring correction were but few, and were rather matters of
+terminology than of actual perversion of accepted teaching. It was as
+such that their modification was suggested. In spite of this, the {16}
+impression remains that Copernicus must be considered as a
+rationalizing scientist, the first in a long roll of original
+scientific investigators whose work has made the edifice of
+Christianity totter by removing many of the foundation-stones of its
+traditional authority.
+
+It is rather surprising, in view of this common impression with regard
+to Copernicus, to find him, according to recent biographers, a
+faithful clergyman in honor with his ecclesiastical superiors, a
+distinguished physician whose chief patients were clerical friends of
+prominent position and the great noblemen of his day, who not only
+retained all his faith and reverence for the Church, but seems to have
+been especially religious, a devoted adherent of the Blessed Virgin
+Mother of God, and the author of a series of poems in her honor that
+constitute a distinct contribution to the literature of his time.
+
+All this should not be astonishing, however; for in the list of the
+churchmen of the half century just before the great religious revolt
+in Germany are to be found some of the best known names in the history
+of the intellectual development of the race. This statement is so
+contrary to the usual impression that obtains in regard to the
+character of that period as to be a distinct source of surprise to the
+ordinary reader of history who has the realization of its truth thrust
+upon him for the first time. Just before the so-called Reformation,
+the clergy are considered to have been so sunk in ignorance, or at
+least to {17} have been so indifferent to intellectual pursuits and so
+cramped in mind as regards progress, or so timorous because of
+inquisition methods, that no great advances in thought, and especially
+none in science, could possibly be looked for from them. To find,
+then, that not only were faithful churchmen leaders in thought,
+discoverers in science, organizers in education, initiators of new
+progress, teachers of the New Learning, but that they were also
+typical representatives and yet prudent directors of the advancing
+spirit of that truly wonderful time, is apt to make us think that
+surely--as the Count de Maistre said one hundred years ago, and the
+Cambridge Modern History repeats at the beginning of the twentieth
+century when treating of this very period--"history has been a
+conspiracy against the truth."
+
+Not quite fifty years before Luther's movement of protest began--that
+is, in 1471--there passed away in a little town in the Rhineland a man
+who has been a greater spiritual force than perhaps any other single
+man that has ever existed. This was Thomas a Kempis, a product of the
+schools of the Brethren of the Common Life, a teaching order that
+during these fifty years before the Protestant Revolution had over ten
+thousand pupils in its schools in the Rhineland and the Netherlands
+alone. As among these pupils there occur such names as Erasmus,
+Nicholas of Cusa, Agricola, not to mention many less illustrious, some
+idea of this old teaching institution, that has been very aptly
+compared to our {18} modern Brothers of the Christian Schools, can be
+realized.
+
+Kempis was a worthy initiator of a great half century. He had among
+his contemporaries, or followers in the next generation, such men as
+Grocyn, Dean Colet, and Linacre in England, Cardinal Ximenes in Spain,
+and Copernicus in Germany. Considering the usual impression in this
+matter as regards the lack of interest at Rome in serious study, it is
+curiously interesting to realize how closely these great scholars and
+thinkers were in touch with the famous popes of the Renaissance
+period. The second half of the sixteenth century saw the elevation to
+the papacy of some of the most learned and worthy men that have ever
+occupied the Chair of Peter. In 1447 Nicholas V became pope, and
+during his eight years of pontificate initiated a movement of sympathy
+with modern art and letters that was never to be extinguished. To him
+more than to any other may be attributed the foundation of the Vatican
+Library. To him also is attributed the famous expression that "no art
+can be too lofty for the service of the Church." He was succeeded by
+Calixtus III, a patron of learning, who was followed by Pius II, the
+famous AEneas Sylvius, one of the greatest scholars and most learned
+men of his day, who had done more for the spread of culture and of
+education in the various parts of Europe than perhaps any other alive
+at the time.
+
+The next Pope, Paul II, accomplished much {19} during a period of
+great danger by arousing the Christian opposition to the Saracens. His
+encouragement and material aid to the Hungarians, who were making a
+bold stand against the Oriental invaders, merit for him a place in the
+role of defenders of civilization. To him is due the introduction of
+the recently discovered art of printing and its installation on a
+sumptuous scale worthy of the center of Christian culture. His
+successor, Sixtus IV, deserves the title of the founder of modern
+Rome. Bridges, aqueducts, public buildings, libraries, churches--all
+owe to his fostering care their restoration and renewed foundation. He
+made it the purpose of his life to attract distinguished humanistic
+scholars to his capital, and Rome became the metropolis of culture and
+learning as well as the mother city of Christendom.
+
+Under such popes it is no wonder that Rome and the cities of Italy
+generally became the homes of art and culture, centers of the new
+humanistic learning and the shelters of the scholars of the outer
+world. The Italian universities entered on a period of intellectual
+and educational development as glorious almost as the art movement
+that characterized the time. As this was marked by the work of such
+men as that universal genius Leonardo da Vinci, of Michael Angelo,
+poet, painter, sculptor, architect; of Raphael, Titian, and Correggio,
+whose contemporaries were worthy of them in every way, some idea can
+be attained of the wonderful era that developed. No {20} wonder
+scholars in every department of learning flocked to Italy for
+inspiration and the enthusiasm bred of scholarly fellowship in such an
+environment. From England came men like Linacre, Selling, Grocyn, and
+Dean Colet; Erasmus came from the Netherlands, and Copernicus from
+Poland. Copernicus there obtained that scientific training which was
+later to prove so fruitful in his practical work as a physician and in
+his scientific work as the founder of modern astronomy.
+
+It may be as well to say at the beginning that even Copernicus was not
+the first to suggest that the earth moved, and not the sun; and that,
+curiously enough, his anticipator was another churchman, Nicholas of
+Cusa, the famous Bishop of Brixen. Readers of Janssen's _History of
+the German People_ will remember that the distinguished historian
+introduces his monumental work by a short sketch of the career of
+Cusanus, as he is called, who may be well taken as the typical
+pre-Reformation scholar and clergyman. Cusa wrote in a
+manuscript--which is still preserved in the hospital of Cues, or
+Cusa--published for the first time by Professor Clemens in 1847: "I
+have long considered that this earth can not be fixed, but moves as do
+the other stars--_sed movetur ut aliae stellae_." What a curious
+commentary these words, written more than half a century before
+Galileo was born, form on the famous expression so often quoted
+because supposed to have been drawn from Galileo by the condemnation
+of his doctrine at Rome: {21} _E pur se muove_--"and yet it moves!"
+Cusanus was a Cardinal, the personal friend of three popes, and he
+seems to have had no hesitation in expressing his opinion in the
+matter. In the same manuscript the Cardinal adds: "And to my mind the
+earth revolves upon its axis once in a day and a night." Cusanus was,
+moreover, one of the most independent thinkers that the world has ever
+seen, yet he was intrusted by the pope about the middle of the
+fifteenth century with the reformation of abuses in the Church in
+Germany. The pope seems to have been glad to be able to secure a man
+of such straightforward ways for his reformatory designs.
+
+The ideas of Nicholas of Cusa with regard to knowledge and the liberty
+of judgment in things not matters of faith can be very well
+appreciated from some of his expressions. "To know and to think," he
+says in one passage, "to see the truth with the eye of the mind is
+always a joy. The older a man grows, the greater is the pleasure it
+affords him; and the more he devotes himself to the search after
+truth, the stronger grows his desire of possessing it. As love is the
+life of the heart, so is the endeavor after knowledge and truth the
+life of the mind. In the midst of the movements of time, of the daily
+work of life, of its perplexities and contradictions, we should lift
+our gaze fearlessly to the clear vault of heaven and seek ever to
+obtain a firmer grasp of, and keener insight into, the origin of all
+goodness and duty, the capacities of our own hearts and minds, {22}
+the intellectual fruits of mankind throughout the centuries, and the
+wondrous works of nature around us; but ever remembering that in
+humility alone lies true greatness, and that knowledge and wisdom are
+alone profitable in so far as our lives are governed by them."
+[Footnote 1] It is no wonder, then, that the time was ripe for
+Copernicus and his great work in astronomy, nor that that work should
+be accomplished while he was a canon of a cathedral and for a time the
+vicar-general of a diocese.
+
+It is now nearly five years since Father Adolph Muller, S.J.,
+professor of Astronomy in the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome,
+and director of a private observatory on the Janiculum in that city,
+wrote his historical scientific study [Footnote 2] of the great
+founder of modern astronomy. The book has been reviewed, criticized
+and discussed very thoroughly since then, and has been translated into
+several languages. The latest translation was into Italian, the work
+of Father Pietro Mezzetti, S.J., [Footnote 3] and was published in
+Rome at the end of 1902--having had the benefit {23} of the author's
+revision. The historical details, then, of Copernicus's life may be
+considered to have been cast into definite shape, and his career may
+be appreciated with confidence as to the absolute accuracy and
+essential significance of all its features.
+
+
+
+  [Footnote 1: _History of the German People at the Close of the
+  Middle Ages_. By Johannes Janssen  Translated from the German by M A
+  Mitchell and A M Christie. Vol I, p. 3.]
+
+  [Footnote 2: _Nikolaus Kopernicus, Der Altmeister der neueren
+  Astronomie, Ein Lebens und Kultur Bild_. Von Adolf Muller, S.J.]
+
+  [Footnote 3: Professor of Astronomy and Physics at the Pontifical
+  Leonine College of Anagni]
+
+
+
+Nicholas Copernicus--to give him the Latin and more usual form of his
+name--was the youngest of four children of Niclas Copernigk, who
+removed from Cracow in Poland to Thorn in East Prussia (though then a
+city of Poland), where he married Barbara Watzelrode, a daughter of
+one of the oldest and wealthiest families of the province. His
+mother's brother, after having been a canon for many years in the
+cathedral of Frauenburg, was elected Bishop of the Province of
+Ermland. The future astronomer was born in 1473, at a time when Thorn,
+after having been for over two hundred years under the rule of the
+Teutonic Knights, had for some seven years been under the dominion of
+the King of Poland. There were two boys and two girls in the family;
+and their fervent Catholicity can be judged from the fact that all of
+them, parents and children, were inscribed among the members of the
+Third Order of St. Dominic. Barbara, the older sister, became a
+religious in the Cistercian Convent of Kulm, of which her aunt
+Catherine was abbess, and of which later on she herself became abbess.
+Andrew, the oldest son, became a priest; and Nicholas, the subject of
+this sketch, at least assumed, as we shall see, all the {24}
+obligations of the ecclesiastical life, though it is not certain that
+he received the major religious orders.
+
+Copernicus's collegiate education was obtained at the University of
+Cracow, at that time one of the most important seats of learning in
+Europe. The five-hundredth anniversary of the founding of this
+University was celebrated with great pomp only a few years ago. Its
+origin, however, dates back to the times of Casimir the Great, at the
+end of the thirteenth or the beginning of the fourteenth century. Its
+foundation was due to the same spirit of enthusiastic devotion to
+letters that gave us all the other great universities of the
+thirteenth century. The original institution was so much improved by
+Jagello, King of Poland, at the beginning of the fifteenth century,
+that it bears his name and is known as the Jagellonian University. It
+was very natural for Copernicus to go back to his father's native city
+for his education; but his ambitious spirit was not content with the
+opportunities afforded there. He does not seem to have taken his
+academic degrees, and the tradition that he received his doctorate in
+medicine at the University of Cracow cannot be substantiated by any
+documentary evidence.
+
+At Cracow, Copernicus devoted himself mainly to classical studies,
+though his interest in astronomy seems to have been awakened there. In
+fact, it is said that his desire to be able to read Ptolemy's
+astronomy in the original Greek, and {25} to obtain a good copy of it,
+led him to look to Italy for his further education. During his years
+at Cracow, however, he seems to have made numerous observations in
+astronomy, as most of the astronomical data in his books are found
+reduced to the meridian of Cracow. The observatory of Frauenburg, at
+which his work in astronomy in later life was carried on, was on the
+same meridian; so that it is difficult to say, as have some of his
+biographers, that, since Cracow was the capital of his native country,
+motives of patriotism influenced him to continue his observations
+according to this same meridian. Copernicus was anxious, no doubt, to
+come in contact with some of the great astronomers at the universities
+of Italy, whom he knew by reputation and whose work was attracting
+attention all over Europe at that time.
+
+How faithfully Copernicus applied himself to his classical studies can
+be best appreciated from some Latin poems written by him during his
+student days. These poems are an index, too, of the personal character
+of the man, and give some interesting hints of the religious side of
+his character. Altogether there are seven Latin odes, each ode
+composed of seven strophes. The seven odes are united by a certain
+community of interest or succession of subjects. All of them refer to
+the history of the Redeemer either in types or in reality. In the
+first one the prophets prefigure the appearance of the Saviour; in the
+second the patriarchs sigh for His coming; the {26} third depicts the
+scene of the Nativity in the Cave of Bethlehem; the fourth is
+concerned with the Circumcision and the imposition of the Name chosen
+by the Holy Ghost; the fifth treats of the Star and the Magi and their
+guidance to the Manger; the sixth concerns the presentation in the
+Temple; and the seventh, the scene in which Jesus at the age of twelve
+disputes with the doctors in the Temple at Jerusalem.
+
+Copernicus's recent biographers have called attention particularly to
+the poetical beauties with which he surrounds every mention of the
+Blessed Virgin and her qualities. As is evident even from our brief
+resume of the subjects of the odes, the themes selected are just those
+in which the special devotion of the writer to the Mother of the
+Saviour could be very well brought out. There are, besides, a number
+of astronomical allusions which stamp the poems as the work of
+Copernicus, and which have been sufficient to defend their
+authenticity against the attacks made by certain critics, who tried to
+point out how different was the style from that of Copernicus's later
+years in his scientific writings. The tradition of authorship is,
+however, too well established on other grounds to be disturbed by
+criticism of this sort. The poems were dedicated to the Pope. In
+writing poetry Copernicus was only doing what Tycho Brahe and Kepler,
+his great successors in astronomy, did after him; and the argument
+with regard to the difference of style in the two kinds of writings
+would hold also as regards these authors.
+
+{27}
+
+Copernicus's years as a boy and man--that is, up to the age of
+thirty-five--corresponded with a time of great intellectual activity
+in Europe. This fact is not as generally recognized as it should be,
+for intellectual activity is supposed to have awakened after the
+so-called Reformation. During the years from 1472 to 1506, however,
+there were founded in Germany alone no less than six universities:
+those of Ingolstadt, Treves, Tubingen, Mentz, Wittenberg, and
+Frankfort-on-the-Oder. These were not by any means the first great
+institutions of learning that arose in Germany. The universities of
+Prague and Vienna were more than a century old, and, with Heidelberg,
+Cologne, Erfurt, Leipsic, and Rostock, besides Greifswald and
+Freiburg, founded about the middle of the fifteenth century, had
+reached a high state of development, and contained larger numbers of
+students, with few exceptions, than these same institutions have ever
+had down to our own day. In most cases their charters were derived
+from the pope; and most of the universities were actually recognized
+as ecclesiastical institutions, in the sense that their officials held
+ecclesiastical authority.
+
+At this time--the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the
+sixteenth century--it was not unusual for students, in their
+enthusiasm for learning, to attempt to exhaust nearly the whole round
+of university studies. Medicine seems to have been a favorite subject
+with scholars who were widely interested in knowledge for its own {28}
+sake. Almost at the same time that Copernicus was studying in Italy,
+the distinguished English Greek scholar, Linacre, was also engaged in
+what would now be called post-graduate work at various Italian
+universities, and in the household of Lorenzo the Magnificent at
+Florence, with whose son--so much did Lorenzo think of him--he was
+allowed to study Greek. Linacre (as will be seen more at length in the
+sketch of his life in this volume), besides being the greatest Greek
+scholar of his time, the friend later of More and Colet and Erasmus in
+London, was also the greatest physician in England.
+
+To those familiar with the times, it may be a source of surprise to
+think of Copernicus, interested as we know him to have been in
+literature and devoted so cordially to astronomy, yet taking up
+medicine as a profession. He seems, however, to have been led to do so
+by his distinguished teacher, Novara, who realized the talent of his
+Polish pupil for mathematics and astronomy and yet felt that he should
+have some profession in life. A century ago Coleridge, the English
+writer, said that a literary man should have some other occupation.
+Oliver Wendell Holmes improved upon this by adding: "And, as far as
+possible, he should confine himself to the other occupation." Novara
+seems to have realized that Copernicus might be under the necessity of
+knowing how to do something else besides making astronomical
+observations, in order to gain his living; and as medicine was {29}
+satisfyingly scientific, the old teacher suggested his taking it up as
+a profession. Copernicus made his medical studies in Ferrara and
+Padua, and obtained his doctorate with honors from Ferrara.
+
+Copernicus seems to have taken up the practice of his profession
+seriously, and to have persevered in it to the end of his life. His
+biographers say that in the exercise of his professional duties he was
+animated by the spirit of a person who had devoted himself to the
+ecclesiastical life. While he did not publicly practise his
+profession, he was ever ready to assist the poor; and he also acquired
+great reputation in the surrounding country for his medical attendance
+upon clerics of all ranks. This continued to be the case,
+notwithstanding the fact that after the death of his uncle his mother
+inherited considerable wealth, and the family circumstances changed so
+much that he might well have given up any labors that were meant only
+to add to his income. In a word, he seems to have had a sincere
+interest in his professional work, and to have continued its exercise
+because of the opportunities it afforded for the satisfaction of a
+mind devoted to scientific research.
+
+Copernicus acquired considerable reputation by his medical services.
+His friend Giese speaks of him as a very skilful physician, and even
+calls him a second AEsculapius. Maurice Ferber, who became Bishop of
+Ermland in 1523, suffered from a severe chronic illness that began
+about 1529. He obtained permission from the canons {30} of the
+cathedral to have Doctor Copernicus, whose ability and zeal he never
+ceased to praise, to come from the cathedral town where he ordinarily
+resided to Heilsburg, in order to have him near him. Bishop Ferber's
+successor, Dantisco, also secured Copernicus's aid in a severe
+illness, and declared that his restoration to health was mainly due to
+the efforts of his learned physician. Giese was so confident of the
+Doctor's skill that when he became Bishop of Kulm and on one of his
+episcopal visitations fell ill at a considerable distance from
+Copernicus's place of residence, he insisted on having the astronomer
+doctor brought to take care of him.
+
+In 1541 Duke Albert of Prussia became very much worried over the
+illness of one of his most trusted counsellors. In his distress he had
+recourse to Copernicus, and his letter asking the Canon of the
+Cathedral of Frauenburg to come to attend the patient is still extant.
+He says that the cure of the illness is "very much at his heart"; and,
+as every other means has failed, he hopes Copernicus will do what he
+can for the assistance of his faithful and valued counsellor.
+Copernicus yielded to the request, and the counsellor began to improve
+shortly after his arrival. At the end of some weeks the Duke wrote
+again to the canons of the cathedral asking that the leave of absence
+granted to Copernicus should be extended in order to enable him to
+complete the cure which had been so happily begun. In this second
+letter the Duke talks of Copernicus as a {31} most skilful and learned
+physician. At the end of the month there is a third letter from the
+Duke, in which he thanks all the canons of the cathedral for their
+goodness in having granted the desired permission, and he adds that he
+shall ever feel under obligations "for the assistance rendered by that
+very worthy and excellent physician, Nicholas Copernicus, a doctor who
+is deserving of all honor." Not long afterward, when Copernicus's book
+on astronomy was published, a copy of it was sent to the Duke, and he
+replied that he was deeply grateful for it, and that he should always
+preserve it as a souvenir of the most learned and gentlest of men.
+
+There are a number of notes on the art of medicine made by Copernicus
+in the books of the cathedral library at Frauenburg. They serve to
+show how faithful a student he was, and to a certain extent give an
+idea of the independent habit of mind which he brought to the
+investigation of medicine as well as to the study of astronomy.
+Unfortunately, these have not as yet found an editor; but it is to be
+hoped that we shall soon know more of the medical thinking of a man
+over whose mind tradition, in the unworthier sense of that word,
+exercised so little influence.
+
+In 1530 Copernicus wrote a short prelude to the longer work on
+astronomy which he was to publish later. The propositions contained in
+this work show how far he had advanced on the road to his ultimate
+discovery. After a few words of introduction, the following seven
+axioms are laid down:--
+
+{32}
+
+1. The celestial spheres and their orbits have not a single center.
+
+2. The center of the earth is not the center of the universe, but only
+the center of gravity and of the moon's orbit.
+
+3. The planes of the orbits lie around the sun, which may be
+considered as the center of the universe.
+
+4. The distance from the earth to the sun compared with that from the
+earth to the fixed stars is extremely small.
+
+5. The daily motion of the heavenly sphere is apparent that is, it is
+an effect of the rotary motion of the earth upon it axis.
+
+6. The apparent motions of the moon and of the sun are so different
+because of the effect produced by the motion of the earth.
+
+7. The movements of the earth account for the apparent retrograde
+motion and other irregularities of the movements of the planets. It is
+enough to assume that the earth alone moves, in order to explain all
+the other movements observed in the heavens.
+
+It is no wonder that one of his bishop-friends, Frisio, writing to
+another bishop-friend, Dantisco, said: "If Copernicus succeeds in
+demonstrating the truth of his thesis--and we may well consider that
+he will from this prelude--he will give us a new heaven and a new
+earth." This shorter exposition of Copernicus's views was found in
+manuscript in the imperial library in Vienna only about a quarter of a
+century ago. {33} It is mentioned by Tycho Brahe in one of his works
+on astronomy in which he reviews the various contemporary advances
+made in the knowledge of the heavens.
+
+The publication of Copernicus's great work, "De Revolutionibus Orbium
+Celestium," was delayed until he was advanced in years, because his
+astronomical opinions were constantly progressing; and, with the
+patience of true genius, he was not satisfied with anything less than
+the perfect expression of truth as he saw it. It has sometimes been
+said that it was delayed because Copernicus feared the storm of
+religious persecution which he foresaw it would surely arouse. How
+utterly without foundation is this pretence, which has unfortunately
+crept into serious history, can be seen from the fact that Pope Paul
+III accepted the dedication of the work; and of the twelve popes who
+immediately followed Paul not one even thought of proceeding against
+Copernicus's work. His teaching was never questioned by any of the
+Roman Congregations for nearly one hundred years after his death.
+Galileo's injudicious insistence in his presentation of Copernicus's
+doctrine, on the novelties of opinion that controverted
+long-established beliefs, was then responsible for the condemnation by
+the Congregation of the Index; and, as we shall see, this was not
+absolute, but only required that certain passages should be corrected.
+The corrections demanded were unimportant as regards the actual
+science, and {34} merely insisted that Copernicus's teaching was
+hypothesis and not yet actual demonstration.
+
+It must not be forgotten, after all, that the reasons advanced by
+Copernicus for his idea of the movements of the planets were not
+supported by any absolute demonstration, but only by reasons from
+analogy. Nearly a hundred years later than his time, even after the
+first discoveries had been made by the newly constructed telescopes,
+in Galileo's day, there was no absolute proof of the true system of
+the heavens. The famous Jesuit astronomer, Father Secchi, says the
+reasons adduced by Galileo were no real proofs: they were only certain
+analogies, and by no means excluded the possibility of the contrary
+propositions with regard to the movements of the heavens being true.
+"None of the real proofs for the earth's rotation upon its axis were
+known at the time of Galileo, nor were there direct conclusive
+arguments for the earth's moving around the sun." Even Galileo himself
+confessed that he had not any strict demonstration of his views, such
+as Cardinal Bellarmine requested. He wrote to the Cardinal, "The
+system seems to be true;" and he gave as a reason that it corresponded
+to the phenomena.
+
+According to the astronomers of the time, however, the old Ptolemaic
+system, in the shape in which it was explained by the Danish
+astronomer Tycho Brahe, who was acknowledged as the greatest of
+European astronomers, appeared to give quite a satisfactory
+explanation of the {35} phenomena observed. The English philosopher,
+Lord Bacon, more than a decade after Galileo's announcement,
+considered that there were certain phenomena in nature contrary to the
+Copernican theory, and so he rejected it altogether. This was within a
+few years of the condemnation by the Congregation at Rome. As pointed
+out by Father Heinzle, S.J., in his article on Galileo in the
+"Catholic World" for 1887, "science was so far from determining the
+question of the truth or falsity of either the Ptolemaic or the
+Copernican system that shortly before 1633, the year of Galileo's
+condemnation, a number of savants, such as Fromond in Louvain, Morin
+in Paris, Berigard in Pisa, Bartolinus in Copenhagen, and Scheiner in
+Rome, wrote against Copernicanism."
+
+As we have said, Copernicus's book was not condemned unconditionally
+by the Roman authorities, but only until it should be corrected. This
+assured protection to the principal part of the work, and the warning
+issued by the Roman Congregation in the year 1820 particularizes the
+details that had to be corrected. It is interesting to note that
+whenever Copernicus is spoken of in this Monitum it is always in
+flattering terms as a "noble astrologer"--the word astrologer having
+at that time no unworthy meaning. The whole work is praised and its
+scientific quality acknowledged.
+
+The passages requiring correction were not many. In the first book, at
+the beginning of the {36} fifth chapter, Copernicus made the
+declaration that "the immobility of the earth was not a decided
+question, but was still open to discussion." In place of these words
+it was suggested that the following should be inserted: "In order to
+explain the apparent motions of the celestial bodies, it is a matter
+of indifference whether we admit that the earth occupies a place in
+the middle of the heavens or not."
+
+In the eighth chapter of the first book, Copernicus said: "Why, then,
+this repugnance to concede to our globe its own movement as natural to
+it as is its spherical form? Why prefer to make the whole heavens
+revolve around it, with the great danger of disturbance that would
+result, instead of explaining all these apparent movements of the
+heavenly bodies by the real rotation of the earth, according to the
+words of AEneas, 'We are carried from the port, and the land and the
+cities recede'?" This passage was to be modified as follows: "Why not,
+then, admit a certain mobility of the earth corresponding to its form,
+since the whole universe of which we know the bounds is moved,
+producing appearances which recall to the mind the well-known saying
+of AEneas in Virgil, 'The land and the cities recede'?"
+
+Toward the end of the same chapter Copernicus, continuing the same
+train of thought, says: "I do not fear to add that it is incomparably
+more unreasonable to make the immense vault of the heavens revolve
+than to admit the {37} revolution of our little terrestrial globe."
+This passage was to be modified as follows: "In one case as well as in
+the other--that is, whether we admit the rotation of the earth or that
+of the heavenly spheres--we encounter the same difficulties."
+
+The ninth chapter of the first book begins with these words: "There
+being no difficulty in admitting, then, the mobility of the earth, let
+us proceed to see whether it has one or a number of movements, and
+whether, therefore, our earth is a simple planet like the other
+planets." The following words were to be substituted: "Supposing,
+then, that the earth does move, it is necessary to examine whether
+this movement is multiple or not."
+
+Toward the middle of the tenth chapter Copernicus declares: "I do not
+hesitate to defend the proposition that the earth, accompanied by the
+moon, moves around the sun;" while the wording of this proposition had
+to be changed so as to substitute the term "admit" for "defend." The
+title of the eleventh chapter, "Demonstration of the Triple Movement
+of the Earth," was modified to read as follows: "The Hypothesis of the
+Triple Movement of the Earth, and the Reasons Therefor." The title of
+the twentieth chapter of the fourth book originally read: "On the Size
+of the Three Stars [_Sidera_], the sun, the moon, and the earth." The
+word "stars" was removed from this title, the earth not being
+considered as a star. The concluding words of {38} the tenth chapter
+of the first book, "So great is the magnificent work of the Omnipotent
+Artificer," had to be cancelled, because they expressed an assurance
+of the truth of his system not warranted by knowledge. With these few
+unimportant changes, any one might read and study Copernicus's work
+with perfect freedom.
+
+Traditions to the contrary notwithstanding, Galileo, because of the
+friendship and encouragement of the churchmen in Italy, had been
+placed in conditions eminently suited for study and investigation.
+Several popes and a number of prominent ecclesiastics were his
+constant friends and patrons. The perpetual secretary of the Paris
+Academy of Sciences, M. Bertrand, himself a great mathematician and
+historian, declares that the long life of Galileo was one of the most
+enviable that is recorded in the history of science. "The tale of his
+misfortunes has confirmed the triumph of the truth for which he
+suffered. Let us tell the whole truth. This great lesson was learned
+without any profound sorrow to Galileo; and his long life, considered
+as a whole, was one of the most serene and enviable in the history of
+science."
+
+Copernicus, like Galileo, had clerical friends to thank for an
+environment that proved the greatest possible aid to his scientific
+work. His position as Canon of the Cathedral of Frauenburg provided
+him with learned leisure, while his clerical friends took just enough
+interest in his investigations and the preliminary {39} announcements
+of his discoveries to make his pursuit of astronomical studies to some
+definite conclusion a worthy aim in life. It was this assistance that
+enabled him to publish his book eventually and bring his great theory
+before the world.
+
+Copernicus, far from having any leanings toward the so-called "reform"
+movement (as has often been asserted), was evidently a staunch
+supporter of his friend and patron Bishop Maurice Ferber, of Ermland,
+who kept his see loyal to Rome at a time when the secularization of
+the Teutonic order and the falling away of many bishops all around him
+make his position as a faithful son of the Church and that of his
+diocese noteworthy in the history of that time and place. It may well
+be said that under less favorable conditions Copernicus's work might
+never have been finished. As it was, his book met with great
+opposition from the Reformers, but remained absolutely acceptable even
+to the most rigorous churchmen until Galileo's unfortunate insistence
+on the points of it that were opposed to generally accepted theories.
+
+During all his long life Copernicus remained one of the simplest of
+men. Genius as he was, he could not have failed to realize how great
+was the significance of the discoveries he had made in astronomy. In
+spite of this he continued to exercise during a long career the simple
+duties of his post as Canon of the Cathedral of Frauenberg, nor did he
+fail to give such time as was asked of him for the medical treatment
+of the {40} poor or of his friends, the ecclesiastics of the
+neighborhood. These duties--as he seems to have considered them--must
+have taken many precious hours from his studies, but they were given
+unstintingly. When he came to die, his humility was even more
+prominent than during life. It was at his own request that there was
+graven upon his tombstone simply the prayer, "I ask not the grace
+accorded to Paul, not that given to Peter: give me only the favor Thou
+didst show to the thief on the cross." There is perhaps no better
+example in all the world of the simplicity of true genius nor any
+better example of how sublimely religious may be the soul that has far
+transcended the bounds of the scientific knowledge of its own day.
+
+The greatness of Copernicus's life-work can best be realized from the
+extent to which he surpassed even well-known contemporaries in
+astronomy and from his practical anticipation of the opinions of some
+of his greatest successors. Even Tycho Brahe, important though he is
+in the history of astronomical science, taught many years after
+Copernicus's death the doctrine that the earth is the center of the
+universe. Newton had in Copernicus a precursor who divined the theory
+of universal gravitation; and even Kepler's great laws, especially the
+elliptical form of the orbits of the planets, are at least hinted at
+in Copernicus's writings. He is certainly one of the most original
+geniuses of all times; and it is interesting to find that the
+completeness of his {41} scholarly career, far from being rendered
+abortive by friction with ecclesiastical superiors, as we might
+imagine probable from the traditions that hang around his name, was
+rather made possible by the sympathy and encouragement of clerical
+friends and Church authorities. Copernicus, the scholar, astronomer,
+physician, and clergyman, is a type of the eve of the Reformation
+period, and his life is the best possible refutation of the slanders
+with regard to the unprogressiveness of the Church and churchmen of
+that epoch which have unfortunately been only too common in the
+histories of the time.
+
+{42}
+
+{43}
+
+III.
+
+BASIL VALENTINE, FOUNDER OF MODERN CHEMISTRY.
+
+{44}
+
+Let us, then, banish into the world of fiction that affirmation so
+long repeated by foolish credulity which made monasteries an asylum
+for indolence and incapacity, for misanthropy and pusillanimity, for
+feeble and melancholic temperaments, and for men who were no longer
+fit to serve society in the world. Monasteries were never intended to
+collect the invalids of the world. It was not the sick souls, but on
+the contrary the most vigorous and healthful the human race has ever
+produced, who presented themselves in crowds to fill
+them.--MONTALEMBERT, _Monks of the West_.
+
+{45}
+
+III.
+
+BASIL VALENTINE, FOUNDER OF MODERN CHEMISTRY.
+
+The Protestant tradition which presumes a priori that no good can
+possibly have come out of the Nazareth of the times before the
+Reformation, and especially the immediately preceding century, has
+served to obscure to an unfortunate degree the history of several
+hundred years extremely important in every department of education.
+Strange as it may seem to those unfamiliar with the period, it is in
+that department which is supposed to be so typically modern
+the--physical sciences--that this neglect is most serious. Such a hold
+has this Protestant tradition on even educated minds that it is a
+source of great surprise to most people to be told that there were in
+many parts of Europe original observers in the physical sciences all
+during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries who were
+doing ground-breaking work of the highest value, work that was
+destined to mean much for the development of modern science.
+Speculations and experiments with regard to the philosopher's stone
+and the transmutation of metals are supposed to fill up all the
+interests of the alchemists of those days. As a matter of fact,
+however, men were making original observations of very {46} profound
+significance, and these were considered so valuable by their
+contemporaries that, though printing had not yet been invented, even
+the immense labor involved in copying large folio volumes by hand did
+not suffice to deter them from multiplying the writings of these men
+and thus preserving them for future generations, until the
+printing-press came to perpetuate them.
+
+At the beginning of the twentieth century, with some of the supposed
+foundations of modern chemistry crumbling to pieces under the
+influences of the peculiarly active light thrown upon older chemical
+theories by the discovery of radium and the radio-active elements
+generally, there is a reawakening of interest in some of the old-time
+chemical observers whose work used to be laughed at as so unscientific
+and whose theory of the transmutation of elements into one another was
+considered so absurd. The idea that it would be impossible under any
+circumstances to convert one element into another belongs entirely to
+the nineteenth century. Even so distinguished a mind as that of
+Newton, in the preceding century, could not bring itself to
+acknowledge the modern supposition of the absurdity of metallic
+transformation, but, on the contrary, believed very firmly in this as
+a basic chemical principle and confessed that it might be expected to
+occur at any time. He had seen specimens of gold ores in connexion
+with metallic copper, and had concluded that this was a manifestation
+of the natural transformation of one of these yellow metals into the
+other.
+
+{47}
+
+With the discovery that radium transforms itself into helium, and that
+indeed all the so-called radio-activities of the very heavy metals are
+probably due to a natural transmutation process constantly at work,
+the ideas of the older chemists cease entirely to be a subject for
+amusement. The physical chemists of the present day are very ready to
+admit that the old teaching of the absolute independence of something
+over seventy elements is no longer tenable, except as a working
+hypothesis. The doctrine of matter and form taught for so many
+centuries by the scholastic philosophers which proclaimed that all
+matter is composed of two principles, an underlying material
+substratum and a dynamic or informing principle, has now more
+acknowledged verisimilitude, or lies at least closer to the generally
+accepted ideas of the most progressive scientists, than it has at any
+time for the last two or three centuries. Not only the great
+physicists, but also the great chemists, are speculating along lines
+that suggest the existence of but one form of matter, modified
+according to the energies that it possesses under a varying physical
+and chemical environment. This is, after all, only a restatement in
+modern terms of the teaching of St. Thomas of Aquin in the thirteenth
+century.
+
+It is not surprising, then, that there should be a reawakening of
+interest in the lives of some of the men who, dominated by the earlier
+scholastic ideas and by the tradition of the possibility of finding
+the philosopher's stone, which would {48} transmute the baser metals
+into the precious metals, devoted themselves with quite as much zeal
+as any modern chemist to the observation of chemical phenomena. One of
+the most interesting of these--indeed he might well be said to be the
+greatest of the alchemists--is the man whose only name that we know is
+that which appears on a series of manuscripts written in the High
+German dialect of the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the
+sixteenth century. That name is Basil Valentine, and the writer,
+according to the best historical traditions, was a Benedictine monk.
+The name Basil Valentine may only have been a pseudonym, for it has
+been impossible to trace it among the records of the monasteries of
+the time. That the writer was a monk there seems to be no doubt, for
+his writings in manuscript and printed form began to have their vogue
+at a time when there was little likelihood of their being attributed
+to a monk unless an indubitable tradition connected them with some
+monastery.
+
+This Basil Valentine (to accept the only name we have), as we can
+judge very well from his writings, eminently deserves the designation
+of the last of the alchemists and the first of the chemists. There is
+practically a universal recognition of the fact now that he deserves
+also the title of Founder of Modern Chemistry, not only because of the
+value of the observations contained in his writings, but also because
+of the fact that they proved so suggestive to certain {49} scientific
+geniuses during the century succeeding Valentine's life. Almost more
+than to have added to the precious heritage of knowledge for mankind
+is it a boon for a scientific observer to have awakened the spirit of
+observation in others and to be the founder of a new school of
+thought. This Basil Valentine undoubtedly did.
+
+Besides, his work furnishes evidence that the investigating spirit was
+abroad just when it is usually supposed not to have been, for the
+Thuringian monk surely did not do all his investigating alone, but
+must have received as well as given many a suggestion to his
+contemporaries.
+
+In the history of education there are two commonplaces that are
+appealed to oftener than any other as the sources of material with
+regard to the influence of the Catholic Church on education during the
+centuries preceding the Reformation. These are the supposed idleness
+of the monks, and the foolish belief in the transmutation of metals
+and the search for the philosopher's stone which dominated the minds
+of so many of the educated men of the time. It is in Germany
+especially that these two features of the pre-Reformation period are
+supposed to be best illustrated. In recent years, however, there has
+come quite a revolution in the feelings even of those outside of the
+Church with regard to the proper appreciation of the work of the
+monastic scholars of these earlier centuries. Even though some of them
+did dream golden dreams over their alembics, the love of knowledge
+meant {50} more to them, as to the serious students of any age, than
+anything that might be made by it. As for their scientific beliefs, if
+there can be a conversion of one element into another, as seems true
+of radium, then the possibility of the transmutation of metals is not
+so absurd as, for a century or more, it has seemed; and it is not
+impossible that at some time even gold may be manufactured out of
+other metallic materials.
+
+Of course, a still worthier change of mind has come over the attitude
+of educators because of the growing sense of appreciation for the
+wonderful work of the monks of the Middle Ages, and even of those
+centuries that are supposed to show least of the influence of these
+groups of men who, forgetting material progress, devoted themselves to
+the preservation and the cultivation of the things of the spirit. The
+impression that would consider the pre-Reformation monks in Germany as
+unworthy of their high calling in the great mass is almost entirely
+without foundation. Obscure though the lives of most of them were,
+many of them rose above their environment in such a way as to make
+their work landmarks in the history of progress for all time.
+
+Because their discoveries are buried in the old Latin folios that are
+contained only in the best libraries, not often consulted by the
+modern scientist, it is usually thought that the scientific
+investigators of these centuries before the Reformation did no work
+that would be worth while considering in our present day. It is only
+some {51} one who goes into this matter as a labor of love who will
+consider it worth his while to take the trouble seriously to consult
+these musty old tomes. Many a scholar, however, has found his labor
+well rewarded by the discovery of many an anticipation of modern
+science in these volumes so much neglected and where such
+treasure-trove is least expected. Professor Clifford Allbutt, the
+Regius Professor of physics at the University of Cambridge, in his
+address on "The Historical Relations of Medicine and Surgery Down to
+the End of the Sixteenth Century," which was delivered at the St.
+Louis Congress of Arts and Sciences during the Exposition in 1904, has
+shown how much that is supposed to be distinctly modern in medicine,
+and above all in surgery, was the subject of discussion at the French
+and Italian universities of the thirteenth century. William Salicet,
+for instance, who taught at the University of Bologna, published a
+large series of case histories, substituted the knife for the Arabic
+use of the cautery, described the danger of wounds of the neck,
+investigated the causes of the failure of healing by first intention,
+and sutured divided nerves. His pupil, Lanfranc, who taught later at
+the University of Paris, went farther than his master by
+distinguishing between venous and arterial hemorrhage, requiring
+digital compression for an hour to stop hemorrhage from the _venae
+pulsatiles_--the pulsating veins, as they were called--and if this
+failed because of the size of the vessel, {52} suggesting the
+application of a ligature. Lanfranc's chapter on injuries to the head
+still remains a noteworthy book in surgery that establishes beyond a
+doubt how thoughtfully practical were these teachers in the medieval
+universities. It must be remembered that at this time all the teachers
+in universities, even those in the medical schools as well as those
+occupied with surgery, were clerics. Professor Allbutt calls attention
+over and over again to this fact, because it emphasizes the
+thoroughness of educational methods, in spite of the supposed
+difficulties that would lie in the way of an exclusively clerical
+teaching staff.
+
+In chemistry the advances made during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and
+fifteenth centuries were even more noteworthy than those in any other
+department of science. Albertus Magnus, who taught at Paris, wrote no
+less than sixteen treatises on chemical subjects, and, notwithstanding
+the fact that he was a theologian as well as a scientist and that his
+printed works filled sixteen folio volumes, he somehow found the time
+to make many observations for himself and performed numberless
+experiments in order to clear up doubts. The larger histories of
+chemistry accord him his proper place and hail him as a great founder
+in chemistry and a pioneer in original investigation.
+
+Even St. Thomas of Aquin, much as he was occupied with theology and
+philosophy, found some time to devote to chemical questions. After
+{53} all, this is only what might have been expected of the favorite
+pupil of Albertus Magnus. Three treatises on chemical subjects from
+Aquinas's pen have been preserved for us, and it is to him that we are
+said to owe the origin of the word amalgam, which he first used in
+describing various chemical methods of metallic combination with
+mercury that were discovered in the search for the genuine
+transmutation of metals.
+
+Albertus Magnus's other great scientific pupil, Roger Bacon, the
+English Franciscan friar, followed more closely in the physical
+scientific ways of his great master. Altogether he wrote some eighteen
+treatises on chemical subjects. For a long time it was considered that
+he was the inventor of gunpowder, though this is now known to have
+been introduced into Europe by the Arabs. Roger Bacon studied
+gunpowder and various other explosive combinations in considerable
+detail, and it is for this reason that he obtained the undeserved
+reputation of being an original discoverer in this line. How well he
+realized how much might be accomplished by means of the energy stored
+up in explosives can perhaps be best appreciated from the fact that he
+suggested that boats would go along the rivers and across the seas
+without either sails or oars and that carriages would go along the
+streets without horse or man power. He considered that man would
+eventually invent a method of harnessing these explosive mixtures and
+of utilizing their energies for his purposes without {54} danger. It
+is curiously interesting to find, as we begin the twentieth century,
+and gasolene is so commonly used for the driving of automobiles and
+motor boats and is being introduced even on railroad cars in the West
+as the most available source of energy for suburban traffic, that this
+generation should only be fulfilling the idea of the old Franciscan
+friar of the thirteenth century, who prophesied that in explosives
+there was the secret of eventually manageable energy for
+transportation purposes.
+
+Succeeding centuries were not as fruitful in great scientists as the
+thirteenth, and yet at the beginning of the fourteenth there was a
+pope, three of whose scientific treatises--one on the transmutation of
+metals, which he considers an impossibility, at least as far as the
+manufacture of gold and silver was concerned; a treatise on diseases
+of the eyes, of which Professor Allbutt [Footnote 4] says that it was
+not without its distinctive practical value, though compiled so early
+in the history of eye surgery; and, finally, his treatise on the
+preservation of the health, written when he was himself over eighty
+years of age--are all considered by good authorities as worthy of the
+best scientific spirit of the time. This pope was John XXII, of whom
+it has been said over and over again by Protestant historians that he
+issued a bull forbidding chemistry, though he was himself one of the
+enthusiastic students of chemistry {55} in his younger years and
+always retained his interest in the science. [Footnote 5]
+
+  [Footnote 4: Address cited]
+
+  [Footnote 5: For the refutation of this calumny with regard to John
+  XXII, see "Pope John XXII and the supposed Bull forbidding
+  Chemistry," by James J. Walsh, Ph. D., LL. D., in the _Medical
+  Library and Historical Journal_, October, 1905.]
+
+During the fourteenth century Arnold of Villanova, the inventor of
+nitric acid, and the two Hollanduses kept up the tradition of original
+investigation in chemistry. Altogether there are some dozen treatises
+from these three men on chemical subjects. The Hollanduses
+particularly did their work in a spirit of thoroughly frank, original
+investigation. They were more interested in minerals than in any other
+class of substances, but did not waste much time on the question of
+transmutation of metals. Professor Thompson, the professor of
+chemistry at Edinburgh, said in his history of chemistry many years
+ago that the Hollanduses have very clear descriptions of their
+processes of treating minerals in investigating their composition,
+which serve to show that their knowledge was by no means entirely
+theoretical or acquired only from books or by argumentation.
+
+Before the end of this fourteenth century, according to the best
+authorities on this subject, Basil Valentine, the more particular
+subject of our essay, was born.
+
+Valentine's career is a typical example of the personally obscure but
+intellectually brilliant lives {56} which these old monks lived. It
+seems probable, according to the best authorities, as we have said,
+that his work began shortly before the middle of the fifteenth
+century, although most of what was important in it was accomplished
+during the second half. It would not be so surprising, as most people
+who have been brought up to consider the period just before the
+Reformation in Germany as wanting in progressive scholars might
+imagine, for a supremely great original investigator to have existed
+in North Germany about this time. After all, before the end of the
+century, Copernicus, the Pole, working in northern Germany, had
+announced his theory that the earth was not the center of the
+universe, and had set forth all that this announcement meant. To a
+bishop-friend who said to him, "But this means that you are giving us
+a new universe," he replied that the universe was already there, but
+his theory would lead men to recognize its existence. In southern
+Germany, Thomas a Kempis, who died in 1471, had traced for man the
+outlines of another universe, that of his own soul, from its
+mystically practical side. These great Germans were only the worthy
+contemporaries of many other German scholars scarcely less
+distinguished than these supreme geniuses. The second half of the
+fifteenth century, the beginning of the Renaissance in Germany as well
+as Italy, is that wonderful time in history when somehow men's eyes
+were opened to see farther and their minds broadened to gather in more
+of the truth of {57} man's relation to the universe, than had ever
+before been the case in all the centuries of human existence, or than
+has ever been possible even in these more modern centuries, though
+supposedly we are the heirs of all the ages in the foremost files of
+time.
+
+Coming as he did before printing, when the spirit of tradition was
+even more rife and dominating than it has been since, it is almost
+needless to say that there are many curious legends associated with
+the name of Basil Valentine. Two centuries before his time, Roger
+Bacon, doing his work in England, had succeeded in attracting so much
+attention even from the common people, because of his wonderful
+scientific discoveries, that his name became a by-word and many
+strange magical feats were attributed to him. Friar Bacon was the
+great wizard even in the plays of the Elizabethan period. A number of
+the same sort of myths attached themselves to the Benedictine monk of
+the fifteenth century. He was proclaimed in popular story to have been
+a wonderful magician. Even his manuscript, it was said, had not been
+published directly, but had been hidden in a pillar in the church
+attached to the monastery and had been discovered there after the
+splitting open of the pillar by a bolt of lightning from heaven. It is
+the extension of this tradition that has sometimes led to the
+assumption that Valentine lived in an earlier century, some even going
+so far as to say that he, too, like Roger Bacon, was a product of the
+{58} thirteenth century. It seems reasonably possible, however, to
+separate the traditional from what is actual in his existence, and
+thus to obtain some idea at least of his work, if not of the details
+of his life. The internal evidence from his works enable the historian
+of science to place him within a half century of the discovery of
+America.
+
+One of the stories told with regard to Basil Valentine, because it has
+become a commonplace in philology, has made him more generally known
+than any of his actual discoveries. In one of the most popular of the
+old-fashioned text-books of chemistry in use a quarter of a century
+ago, in the chapter on Antimony, there was a story that I suppose
+students never forgot. It was said that Basil Valentine, a monk of the
+Middle Ages, was the discoverer of this substance. After having
+experimented with it in a number of ways, he threw some of it out of
+his laboratory one day, where the swine of the monastery, finding it,
+proceeded to gobble it up together with some other refuse. He watched
+the effect upon the swine very carefully, and found that, after a
+preliminary period of digestive disturbance, these swine developed an
+enormous appetite and became fatter than any of the others. This
+seemed a rather desirable result, and Basil Valentine, ever on the
+search for the practical, thought that he might use the remedy to good
+purpose even on the members of the community.
+
+Now, some of the monks in the monastery were of rather frail health
+and delicate constitution, {59} and he thought that the putting on of
+a little fat in their case might be a good thing. Accordingly he
+administered, surreptitiously, some of the salts of antimony, with
+which he was experimenting, in the food served to these monks. The
+result, however, was not so favorable as in the case of the hogs.
+Indeed, according to one, though less authentic, version of the story,
+some of the poor monks, the unconscious subjects of the experiment,
+even perished as the result of the ingestion of the antimonial
+compounds. According to the better version they suffered only the
+usual unpleasant consequences of taking antimony, which are, however,
+quite enough for a fitting climax to the story. Basil Valentine called
+the new substance which he had discovered antimony, that is, opposed
+to monks. It might be good for hogs, but it was a form of monks' bane,
+as it were. [Footnote 6]
+
+  [Footnote 6: It is curious to trace how old are the traditions on
+  which some of these old stories that must now be rejected, are
+  founded. I have come upon the story with regard to Basil Valentine
+  and the antimony and the monks in an old French medical encyclopedia
+  of biography, published in the seventeenth century, and at that time
+  there was no doubt at all expressed as to its truth. How much older
+  than this it may be I do not know, though it is probable that it
+  comes from the sixteenth century, when the _kakoethes scribendi_
+  attacked many people because of the facility of printing, and when
+  most of the good stories that have so worried the modern dry-as-dust
+  historian in his researches for their correction became a part of
+  the body of supposed historical tradition.]
+
+{60}
+
+Unfortunately for most of the good stories of history, modern
+criticism has nearly always failed to find any authentic basis for
+them, and they have had to go the way of the legends of Washington's
+hatchet and Tell's apple. We are sorry to say that that seems to be
+true also of this particular story. Antimony, the word, is very
+probably derived from certain dialectic forms of the Greek word for
+the metal, and the name is no more derived from _anti_ and _monachus_
+than it is from _anti_ and _monos_ (opposed to single existence),
+another fictitious derivation that has been suggested, and one whose
+etymological value is supposed to consist in the fact that antimony is
+practically never found alone in nature.
+
+Notwithstanding the apparent cloud of unfounded traditions that are
+associated with his name, there can be no doubt at all of the fact
+that Valentinus--to give him the Latin name by which he is commonly
+designated in foreign literatures--was one of the great geniuses who,
+working in obscurity, make precious steps into the unknown that enable
+humanity after them to see things more clearly than ever before. There
+are definite historical grounds for placing Basil Valentine as the
+first of the series of careful observers who differentiated chemistry
+from the old alchemy and applied its precious treasures of information
+to the uses of medicine. It was because of the study of Basil
+Valentine's work that Paracelsus broke away from the Galenic
+traditions, so supreme in medicine up to his time, {61} and began our
+modern pharmaceutics. Following on the heels of Paracelsus came Van
+Helmont, the father of modern medical chemistry, and these three did
+more than any others to enlarge the scope of medication and to make
+observation rather than authority the most important criterion of
+truth in medicine. Indeed, the work of these three men dominated
+medicine, or at least the department of pharmaceutics, down almost to
+our own day, and their influence is still felt in drug-giving.
+
+While we do not know the absolute date of either the birth or the
+death of Basil Valentine and are not sure even of the exact period in
+which he lived and did his work, we are sure that a great original
+observer about the time of the invention of printing studied mercury
+and sulphur and various salts, and above all, introduced antimony to
+the notice of the scientific world, and especially to the favor of
+practitioners of medicine. His book, "The Triumphal Chariot of
+Antimony," is full of conclusions not quite justified by his premises
+nor by his observations. There is no doubt, however, that the
+observational methods which he employed did give an immense amount of
+knowledge and formed the basis of the method of investigation by which
+the chemical side of medicine was to develop during the next two or
+three centuries. Great harm was done by the abuse of antimony, but
+then great harm is done by the abuse of anything, no matter how good
+it may be. For a {62} time it came to be the most important drug in
+medicine and was only replaced by venesection.
+
+The fact of the matter is that doctors were looking for effects from
+their drugs, and antimony is, above all things, effective. Patients,
+too, wished to see the effect of the medicines they took. They do so
+even yet, and when antimony was administered there was no doubt about
+its working.
+
+Some five years ago, when Sir Michael Foster, M.D., professor of
+physiology in the University of Cambridge, England, was invited to
+deliver the Lane lectures at the Cooper Medical College, in San
+Francisco, he took for his subject "The History of Physiology." In the
+course of his lecture on "The Rise of Chemical Physiology" he began
+with the name of Basil Valentine, who first attracted men's attention
+to the many chemical substances around them that might be used in the
+treatment of disease, and said of him:--
+
+  He was one of the alchemists, but in addition to his inquiries into
+  the properties of metals and his search for the philosopher's stone,
+  he busied himself with the nature of drugs, vegetable and mineral,
+  and with their action as remedies for disease. He was no anatomist,
+  no physiologist, but rather what nowadays we should call a
+  pharmacologist. He did not care for the problem of the body, all he
+  sought to understand was how the constituents of the soil and of
+  plants might be treated so as to be available for healing the sick
+  and how they produced their effects. We apparently owe to him the
+  introduction of many chemical substances, for instance, of {63}
+  hydrochloric acid, which he prepared from oil of vitriol and salt,
+  and of many vegetable drugs. And he was apparently the author of
+  certain conceptions which, as we shall see, played an important part
+  in the development of chemistry and of physiology. To him, it seems,
+  we owe the idea of the three "elements," as they were and have been
+  called, replacing the old idea of the ancients of the four
+  elements--earth, air, fire, and water. It must be remembered,
+  however, that both in the ancient and in the new idea the word
+  "element" was not intended to mean that which it means to us now, a
+  fundamental unit of matter, but a general quality or property of
+  matter. The three elements of Valentine were (1) sulphur, or that
+  which is combustible, which is changed or destroyed, or which at all
+  events disappears during burning or combustion; (2) mercury, that
+  which temporarily disappears during burning or combustion, which is
+  dissociated in the burning from the body burnt, but which may be
+  recovered, that is to say, that which is volatile, and (3) salt,
+  that which is fixed, the residue or ash which remains after burning.
+
+
+The most interesting of Basil Valentine's books, and the one which has
+had the most enduring influence, is undoubtedly "The Triumphal Chariot
+of Antimony." It has been translated and has had a wide vogue in every
+language of modern Europe. Its recommendation of antimony had such an
+effect upon medical practice that it continued to be the most
+important drug in the pharmacopoeia down almost to the middle of the
+nineteenth century. If any proof were needed that Basil Valentine or
+that the author of the books that go under that name was a monk, it
+would be found in the {64} introduction to this volume, which not only
+states that fact very clearly, but also in doing so makes use of
+language that shows the writer to have been deeply imbued with the old
+monastic spirit. I quote the first paragraph of this introduction in
+order to make clear what I mean. The quotation is taken from the
+English translation of the work as published in London in 1678.
+Curiously enough, seeing the obscurity surrounding Valentine himself,
+we do not know for sure who made the translation. The translator
+apologizes somewhat for the deeply religious spirit of the book, but
+considers that he was not justified in eliminating any of this. Of
+course, the translation is left in the quaint old-fashioned form so
+eminently suited to the thoughts of the old master, and the spelling
+and use of capitals is not changed:
+
+  Basil Valentine--His Triumphant Chariot of Antimony Since I, Basil
+  Valentine, by Religious Vows am bound to live according to the Order
+  of St. Benedict, and that requires another manner of spirit of
+  Holiness than the common state of Mortals exercised in the profane
+  business of this World; I thought it my duty before all things, in
+  the beginning of this little book, to declare what is necessary to
+  be known by the pious Spagyrist [old-time name for medical chemist],
+  inflamed with an ardent desire of this Art, as what he ought to do,
+  and whereunto to direct his aim, that he may lay such foundations of
+  the whole matter as may be stable; lest his Building, shaken with
+  the Winds, happen to fall, and the whole Edifice to be involved in
+  shameful Ruine, {65} which otherwise, being founded on more firm and
+  solid principles, might have continued for a long series of time
+  Which Admonition I judged was, is and always will be a necessary
+  part of my Religious Office; especially since we must all die, and
+  no one of us which are now, whether high or low, shall long be seen
+  among the number of men For it concerns me to recommend these
+  Meditations of Mortality to Posterity, leaving them behind me, not
+  only that honor may be given to the Divine Majesty, but also that
+  Men may obey him sincerely in all things.
+
+  In this my Meditation I found that there were five principal heads,
+  chiefly to be considered by the wise and prudent spectators of our
+  Wisdom and Art. The first of which is, Invocation of God. The
+  second, Contemplation of Nature The third, True Preparation. The
+  fourth, the Way of Using. The fifth, Utility and Fruit. For he who
+  regards not these, shall never obtain place among true Chymists, or
+  fill up the number of perfect Spagyrists. Therefore, touching these
+  five heads, we shall here following treat and so far declare them,
+  as that the general Work may be brought to light and perfected by an
+  intent and studious Operator.
+
+This book, though the title might seem to indicate it, is not devoted
+entirely to the study of antimony, but contains many important
+additions to the chemistry of the time. For instance, Basil Valentine
+explains in this work how what he calls the spirit of salt might be
+obtained. He succeeded in manufacturing this material by treating
+common salt with oil of vitriol and heat. From the description of the
+uses to which he put the end product of his chemical manipulation, it
+is evident that under the name of spirit of salt {66} he is describing
+what we now know as hydrochloric acid. This is the first definite
+mention of it in the history of science, and the method suggested for
+its preparation is not very different from that employed even at the
+present time. He also suggests in this volume how alcohol may be
+obtained in high strengths. He distilled the spirit obtained from wine
+over carbonate of potassium, and thus succeeded in depriving it of a
+great proportion of its water.
+
+We have said that he was deeply interested in the philosopher's stone.
+Naturally this turned his attention to the study of metals, and so it
+is not surprising to find that he succeeded in formulating a method by
+which metallic copper could be obtained. The substance used for the
+purpose was copper pyrites, which was changed to an impure sulphate of
+copper by the action of oil of vitriol and moist air. The sulphate of
+copper occurred in solution, and the copper could be precipitated from
+it by plunging an iron bar into it. Basil Valentine recognized the
+presence of this peculiar yellow metal and studied some of its
+qualities. He does not seem to have been quite sure, however, whether
+the phenomenon that he witnessed was not really a transmutation of the
+iron into copper, as a consequence of the other chemicals present.
+
+There are some observations on chemical physiology, and especially
+with regard to respiration, in the book on antimony which show their
+author to have anticipated the true explanation of the {67} theory of
+respiration. He states that animals breathe, because the air is needed
+to support their life, and that all the animals exhibit the phenomenon
+of respiration. He even insists that the fishes, though living in
+water, breathe air, and he adduces in support of this idea the fact
+that whenever a river is entirely frozen the fishes die. The reason
+for this being, according to this old-time physiologist, not that the
+fishes are frozen to death, but that they are not able to obtain air
+in the ice as they did in the water, and consequently perish.
+
+There are many testimonies to the practical character of all his
+knowledge and his desire to apply it for the benefit of humanity. The
+old monk could not repress the expression of his impatience with
+physicians who gave to patients for diseases of which they knew
+little, remedies of which they knew less. For him it was an
+unpardonable sin for a physician not to have faithfully studied the
+various mixtures that he prescribed for his patients, and not to know
+not only their appearance and taste and effect, but also the limits of
+their application. Considering that at the present time it is a
+frequent source of complaint that physicians often prescribe remedies
+with whose physical appearances they are not familiar, this complaint
+of the old-time chemist alchemist will be all the more interesting for
+the modern physician. It is evident that when Basil Valentine allows
+his ire to get the better of him it is because of his indignation over
+the {68} quacks who were abusing medicine and patients in his time, as
+they have ever since. There is a curious bit of aspersion on mere
+book-learning in the passage that has a distinctly modern ring, and
+one feels the truth of Russell Lowell's expression that to read a
+great genius, no matter how antique, is like reading a commentary in
+the morning paper, so up-to-date does genius ever remain:--
+
+  And whensoever I shall have occasion to contend in the School with
+  such a Doctor, who knows not how himself to prepare his own
+  medicines, but commits that business to another, I am sure I shall
+  obtain the Palm from him; for indeed that good man knows not what
+  medicines he prescribes to the sick; whether the color of them be
+  white, black, grey, or blew, he cannot tell; nor doth this wretched
+  man know whether the medicine he gives be dry or hot, cold or humid;
+  but he only knows that he found it so written in his Books, and
+  thence pretends knowledge (or as it were, Possession) by
+  Prescription of a very long time; yet he desires to further
+  Information Here again let it be lawful to exclaim, Good God, to
+  what a state is the matter brought! what goodness of minde is in
+  these men! what care do they take of the sick! Wo, wo to them! in
+  the day of Judgment they will find the fruit of their ignorance and
+  rashness, then they will see Him whom they pierced, when they
+  neglected their Neighbor, sought after money and nothing else;
+  whereas were they cordial in their profession, they would spend
+  Nights and Days in Labour that they might become more learned in
+  their Art, whence more certain health would accrew to the sick with
+  their Estimation and greater glory to themselves. But since Labour
+  is tedious to them, they commit the {69} matter to chance, and being
+  secure of their Honour, and content with their Fame, they (like
+  Brawlers) defend themselves with a certain garrulity, without any
+  respect had to Confidence or Truth.
+
+Perhaps one of the reasons why Valentine's book has been of such
+enduring interest is that it is written in an eminently human vein and
+out of a lively imagination. It is full of figures relating to many
+other things besides chemistry, which serve to show how deeply this
+investigating observer was attentive to all the problems of life
+around him. For instance, when he wants to describe the affinity that
+exists between many substances in chemistry, and which makes it
+impossible for them not to be attracted to one another, he takes a
+figure from the attractions that he sees exist among men and women.
+There are some paragraphs with regard to the influence of the passion
+of love that one might think rather a quotation from an old-time
+sermon than from a great ground-breaking book in the science of
+chemistry.
+
+  Love leaves nothing entire or sound in man; it impedes his sleep; he
+  cannot rest either day or night; it takes off his appetite that he
+  hath no disposition either to meat or drink by reason of the
+  continual torments of his heart and mind. It deprives him of all
+  Providence, hence he neglects his affairs, vocation and business. He
+  minds neither study, labor nor prayer; casts away all thoughts of
+  anything but the body beloved; this is his study, this his most vain
+  occupation. If to lovers the success be not answerable to their
+  wish, or so soon {70} and prosperously as they desire, how many
+  melancholies henceforth arise, with griefs and sadnesses, with which
+  they pine away and wax so lean as they have scarcely any flesh
+  cleaving to the bones Yea, at last they lose the life itself, as may
+  be proved by many examples! for such men, (which is an horrible
+  thing to think of) slight and neglect all perils and detriments,
+  both of the body and life, and of the soul and eternal salvation
+
+It is evident that human nature is not different in our sophisticated
+twentieth century from that which this observant old monk saw around
+him in the fifteenth. He continues:--
+
+  How many testimonies of this violence which is in love, are daily
+  found? for it not only inflames the younger sort, but it so far
+  exaggerates some persons far gone in years as through the burning
+  heat thereof, they are almost mad Natural diseases are for the most
+  part governed by the complexion of man and therefore invade some
+  more fiercely, others more gently; but Love, without distinction of
+  poor or rich, young or old, seizeth all, and having seized so blinds
+  them as forgetting all rules of reason, they neither see nor hear
+  any snare.
+
+But then the old monk thinks that he has said enough about this
+subject and apologizes for his digression in another paragraph that
+should remove any lingering doubt there may be with regard to the
+genuineness of his monastic character. The personal element in his
+confession is so naive and so simply straightforward that instead of
+seeming to be the result of conceit, and so repelling the reader, it
+rather attracts his {71} kindly feeling for its author. The paragraph
+would remind one in certain ways of that personal element that was to
+become more popular in literature after Montaigne had made such
+extensive use of it.
+
+  But of these enough; for it becomes not a religious man to insist
+  too long upon these cogitations, or to give place to such a flame in
+  his heart. Hitherto (without boasting I speak it) I have throughout
+  the whole course of my life kept myself safe and free from it, and I
+  pray and invoke God to vouchsafe me his Grace that I may keep holy
+  and inviolate the faith which I have sworn, and live contented with
+  my spiritual spouse, the Holy, Catholick Church. For no other reason
+  have I alleaged these than that I might express the love with which
+  all tinctures ought to be moved towards metals, if ever they be
+  admitted by them into true friendship, and by love, which permeates
+  the inmost parts, be converted into a better state
+
+The application of the figure at the end of his long digression is
+characteristic of the period in which he wrote and to a considerable
+extent also of the German literary methods of the time.
+
+In this volume on the use of antimony there are in most of the
+editions certain biographical notes which have sometimes been accepted
+as authentic, but oftener rejected. According to these, Basil
+Valentine was born in a town in Alsace, on the southern bank of the
+Rhine. As a consequence of this, there are several towns that have
+laid claim to being his birthplace. M. Jean Reynaud, the distinguished
+French {72} philosophical writer of the first half of the nineteenth
+century, once said that Basil Valentine, like Ossian and Homer, had
+many towns claim him years after his death. He also suggested that,
+like those old poets, it was possible that the writings sometimes
+attributed to Basil Valentine were really the work not of one man, but
+of several individuals. There are, however, many objections to this
+theory, the most forceful of which is the internal evidence of the
+books themselves and their style and method of treatment. Other
+biographic details contained in "The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony"
+are undoubtedly more correct. According to them, Basil Valentine
+travelled in England and Holland on missions for his Order, and went
+through France and Spain on a pilgrimage to St. James of Compostella.
+
+Besides this work, there is a number of other books of Basil
+Valentine's, printed during the first half of the sixteenth century,
+that are well-known and copies of which may be found in most of the
+important libraries. The United States Surgeon General's Library at
+Washington contains several of the works on medical subjects, and the
+New York Academy of Medicine Library has some valuable editions of his
+works. Some of his other well-known books, each of which is a
+good-sized octavo volume, bear the following descriptive titles (I
+give them in English, though, as they are usually to be found, they
+are in Latin, sixteenth-century {73} translations of the original
+German): "The World in Miniature: or, The Mystery of the World and of
+Human Medical Science," published at Marburg, 1609;--"The Chemical
+Apocalypse: or, The Manifestation of Artificial Chemical Compounds,"
+published at Erfurt in 1624;--"A Chemico-Philosophic Treatise
+Concerning Things Natural and Preternatural, Especially Relating to
+the Metals and the Minerals," published at Frankfurt in
+1676;--"Haliography: or, The Science of Salts: A Treatise on the
+Preparation, Use and Chemical Properties of All the Mineral, Animal
+and Vegetable Salts," published at Bologna in 1644;--"The Twelve Keys
+of Philosophy," Leipsic, 1630.
+
+The great interest manifested in Basil Valentine's work at the
+Renaissance period can be best realized from the number of manuscript
+copies and their wide distribution. His books were not all printed at
+one place, but, on the contrary, in different portions of Europe. The
+original edition of "The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony" was published
+at Leipsic in the early part of the sixteenth century. The first
+editions of the other books, however, appeared at places so distant
+from Leipsic as Amsterdam and Bologna, while various cities of
+Germany, as Erfurt and Frankfurt, claim the original editions of still
+other works. Many of the manuscript copies still exist in various
+libraries in Europe; and while there is no doubt that some unimportant
+additions to the supposed works of Basil Valentine have come {74} from
+the attribution to him of scientific treatises of other German
+writers, the style and the method of the principal works mentioned are
+entirely too similar not to have been the fruit of a single mind and
+that possessed of a distinct investigating genius setting it far above
+any of its contemporaries in scientific speculation and observation.
+
+The most interesting feature of all of Basil Valentine's writings that
+are extant is the distinctive tendency to make his observations of
+special practical utility. His studies in antimony were made mainly
+with the idea of showing how that substance might be used in medicine.
+He did not neglect to point out other possible uses, however, and knew
+the secret of the employment of antimony in order to give sharpness
+and definition to the impression produced by metal types. It would
+seem as though he was the first scientist who discussed this subject,
+and there is even some question whether printers and type founders did
+not derive their ideas in this matter from Basil Valentine, rather
+than he from them. Interested as he was in the transmutation of
+metals, he never failed to try to find and suggest some medicinal use
+for all of the substances that he investigated. His was no greedy
+search for gold and no accumulation of investigations with the idea of
+benefiting only himself. Mankind was always in his mind, and perhaps
+there is no better demonstration of his fulfilment of the character of
+the monk than this constant {75} solicitude to benefit others by every
+bit of investigation that he carried out. For him with medieval
+nobleness of spirit the first part of every work must be the
+invocation of God, and the last, though no less important than the
+first, must be the utility and fruit for mankind that can be derived
+from it.
+
+{76}
+
+{77}
+
+IV.
+
+LINACRE: SCHOLAR, PHYSICIAN, PRIEST.
+
+
+{78}
+
+Linacre, as Dr. Payne remarks, "was possessed from his youth till his
+death by the enthusiasm of learning. He was an idealist devoted to
+objects which the world thought of little use." Painstaking, accurate,
+critical, hypercritical perhaps, he remains to-day the chief literary
+representative of British Medicine. Neither in Britain nor in Greater
+Britain have we maintained the place in the world of letters created
+for us by Linacre's noble start. Quoted by Osler in _AEquanimitas_.
+
+
+
+[Illustration: THOMAS LINACRE]
+
+
+{79}
+
+IV.
+
+LINACRE: SCHOLAR, PHYSICIAN, PRIEST.
+
+Not long ago, in one of his piquant little essays, Mr. Augustine
+Birrell discussed the question as to what really happened at the time
+of the so-called Reformation in England. There is much more doubt with
+regard to this matter, even in the minds of non-Catholics, than is
+usually suspected. Mr. Birrell seems to have considered it one of the
+most important problems, and at the same time not by any means the
+least intricate one, in modern English history. The so-called High
+Church people emphatically insist that there is no break in the
+continuity of the Church of England, and that the modern Anglicanism
+is a direct descendant of the old British Church. They reject with
+scorn the idea that it was the Lutheran movement on the Continent
+which brought about the changes in the Anglican Church at that time.
+Protestantism did not come into England for a considerable period
+after the change in the constitution of the Anglican Church, and when
+it did come its tendencies were quite as subversal of the authority of
+the Anglican as of the Roman Church, Protestantism is the mother of
+Nonconformism in England. It can be seen, then, that the question as
+to what did really take place in the time {80} of Henry VIII and of
+Edward VI is still open. It has seemed to me that no little light on
+this vexed historical question will be thrown by a careful study of
+the life of Dr. Linacre, who, besides being the best known physician
+of his time in England, was the greatest scholar of the English
+Renaissance period, yet had all his life been on very intimate terms
+with the ecclesiastical authorities, and eventually gave up his
+honors, his fortune, and his profession to become a simple priest of
+the old English Church.
+
+Considering the usually accepted notions as to the sad state of
+affairs supposed to exist in the Church at the beginning of the
+sixteenth century, this is a very remarkable occurrence, and deserves
+careful study to determine its complete significance, for it tells
+better than anything else the opinion of a distinguished contemporary.
+Few men have ever been more highly thought of by their own generation.
+None has been more sincerely respected by intimate friends, who were
+themselves the leaders of the thought of their generation, than Thomas
+Linacre, scholar, physician and priest; and his action must stand as
+the highest possible tribute to the Church in England at that time.
+
+How unimpaired his practical judgment of men and affairs was at the
+time he made his change from royal physician to simple priest can best
+be gathered from the sagacity displayed in the foundation of the Royal
+College of Physicians, an institution he was endowing with the {81}
+wealth he had accumulated in some twenty years of most lucrative
+medical practice. The Royal College of Physicians represents the first
+attempt to secure the regulation of the practice of medicine in
+England, and, thanks to its founder's wonderful foresight and
+practical wisdom, it remains down to our own day, under its original
+constitution, one of the most effective and highly honored of British
+scientific foundations. No distinction is more sought at the present
+time by young British medical men, or by American or even Continental
+graduates in medicine, than the privilege of adding to their names the
+letters "F.R.C.P.(Eng.)," Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of
+England. The College worked the reformation of medical practice in
+England, and its methods have proved the suggestive formulae for many
+another such institution and for laws that all over the world protect,
+to some extent at least, the public from quacks and charlatans.
+
+Linacre's change of profession at the end of his life has been a
+fruitful source of conjecture and misconception on the part of his
+biographers. Few of them seem to be able to appreciate the fact,
+common enough in the history of the Church, that a man may, even when
+well on in years, give up everything to which his life has been so far
+directed, and from a sense of duty devote himself entirely to the
+attainment of "the one thing necessary." Linacre appears only to have
+done what many another in the history of {82} the thirteenth,
+fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries did without any comment; but his
+English biographers insist on seeing ulterior motives in it, or else
+fail entirely to understand it. The same action is not so rare even in
+our own day that it should be the source of misconception by later
+writers.
+
+Dr. S. Weir Mitchell has, in the early part of _Dr. North and His
+Friends_, a very curious passage with regard to Linacre. One of the
+characters, St. Clair, says: "I saw, the other day, at Owen's, a life
+of one Linacre, a doctor, who had the luck to live about 1460 to 1524,
+when men knew little and thought they knew all. In his old age he took
+for novelty to reading St. Matthew. The fifth, sixth, and seventh
+chapters were enough. He threw the book aside and cried out, 'Either
+this is not the Gospel, or we are not Christians.' What else could he
+say?" St. Clair uses the story to enforce an idea of his own, which he
+states as a question, as follows: "And have none of you the courage to
+wrestle with the thought I gave you, that Christ could not have
+expected the mass of men to live the life He pointed out as desirable
+for the first disciples of His faith?"
+
+Dr. Mitchell's anecdote is not accepted by Linacre's biographers
+generally, though it is copied by Dr. Payne, the writer of the article
+on Linacre in the (English) _Dictionary of National Biography_, who,
+however, discredits it somewhat. The story is founded on Sir John
+Cheke's {83} account of the conversion of Linacre. It is very
+doubtful, however, whether Linacre's deprecations of the actions of
+Christians had reference to anything more than the practice of false
+swearing so forcibly denounced in the Scriptures, which had apparently
+become frequent in his time. This is Selden's version of the story as
+quoted by Dr. Johnson, who was Linacre's well-known biographer. Sir
+John Cheke in his account seems to hint that this chance reading of
+the Scriptures represented the first occasion Linacre had ever taken
+of an opportunity to read the New Testament. Perhaps we are expected
+to believe that, following the worn-out Protestant tradition of the
+old Church's discouraging of the reading of the Bible, and of the
+extreme scarcity of copies of the Book, this was the first time he had
+ever had a good opportunity to read it. This, of course, is nonsense.
+
+Linacre's early education had been obtained at the school of the
+monastery of Christ Church at Canterbury, and the monastery schools
+all used the New Testament as a text-book, and as the offices of the
+day at which the students were required to attend contain these very
+passages from Matthew which Linacre is supposed to have read for the
+first time later in life, this idea is preposterous. Besides, Linacre,
+as one of the great scholars of his time, intimate friend of Sir
+Thomas More, of Dean Colet, and Erasmus, can scarcely be thought to
+find his first copy of the Bible only when advanced in years. This is
+{84} evidently a post-Reformation addition, part of the Protestant
+tradition with regard to the supposed suppression of the Scriptures in
+pre-Reformation days, which every one acknowledges now to be without
+foundation.
+
+Linacre, as many another before and since, seems only to have realized
+the true significance of the striking passages in Matthew after life's
+experiences and disappointments had made him take more seriously the
+clauses of the Sermon on the Mount. There is much in fifth, sixth, and
+seventh Matthew that might disturb the complacent equanimity of a man
+whose main objects in life, though pursued with all honorable
+unselfishness, had been the personal satisfaction of wide scholarship
+and success in his chosen profession.
+
+With regard to Sir John Cheke's story, Dr. John Noble Johnson, who
+wrote the life of Thomas Linacre, [Footnote 7] which is accepted as
+the authoritative biography by all subsequent writers, says: "The
+whole statement carries with it an air of invention, if not on the
+part of Cheke himself, at least on that of the individual from whom he
+derives it, and it is refuted by {85} Linacre's known habits of
+moderation and the many ecclesiastical friendships which, with a
+single exception, were preserved without interruption until his death.
+It was a most frequent mode of silencing opposition to the received
+and established tenets of the Church, when arguments were wanting, to
+brand the impugner with the opprobrious titles of heretic and infidel,
+the common resource of the enemies to innovation in every age and
+country."
+
+  [Footnote 7: "The Life of Thomas Linacre," Doctor in Medicine,
+  Physician to King Henry VIII, the Tutor and Friend of Sir Thomas
+  More and the Founder of the College of Physicians in London By John
+  Noble Johnson, M D., late Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians,
+  London. Edited by Robert Graves, of the Inner Temple, Barrister at
+  Law London: Edward Lumley, Chancery Lane 1835.]
+
+The interesting result of the reflections inspired in Linacre by the
+reading of Matthew was, as has been said, the resignation of his high
+office of Royal Physician and the surrender of his wealth for the
+foundation of chairs in Medicine and Greek at Oxford and Cambridge.
+With the true liberal spirit of a man who wished to accomplish as much
+good as possible, his foundations were not limited to his own
+University of Oxford. After these educational foundations, however,
+his wealth was applied to the endowment of the Royal College of
+Physicians and its library, and to the provision of such accessories
+as might be expected to make the College a permanently useful
+institution, though left at the same time perfectly capable of that
+evolution which would suit it to subsequent times and the development
+of the science and practice of medicine.
+
+It is evident that the life of such a man can scarcely fail to be of
+personal as well as historic interest.
+
+{86}
+
+Thomas Linacre was born about 1460--the year is uncertain--at
+Canterbury. Nothing is known of his parents or their condition, though
+this very silence in their regard would seem to indicate that they
+were poor and obscure. His education was obtained at the school of the
+monastery of Christ Church, Canterbury, then presided over by the
+famous William Selling, the first of the great students of the new
+learning in England. Selling's interest seems to have helped Linacre
+to get to Oxford, where he entered at All Souls' College in 1480. In
+1484 he was elected a Fellow of the College, and seems to have
+distinguished himself in Greek, to which he applied himself with
+special assiduity under Cornelio Vitelli. Though Greek is sometimes
+spoken of as having been introduced into Western Europe only at the
+beginning of the sixteenth century, Linacre undoubtedly laid the
+foundation of that remarkable knowledge of the language which he
+displayed at a later period of his life, during his student days at
+Oxford in the last quarter of the fifteenth century.
+
+Linacre went to Italy under the most auspicious circumstances. His old
+tutor and friend at Canterbury, Selling, who had become one of the
+leading ecclesiastics of England, was sent to Rome as an Ambassador by
+Henry VII. He took Linacre with him. A number of English scholars had
+recently been in Italy and had attracted attention by their geniality,
+by their thorough-going devotion to scholarly studies, {87} and by
+their success in their work. Selling himself had made a number of firm
+friends among the Italian students of the New Learning on a former
+visit, and they now welcomed him with enthusiasm and were ready to
+receive his protege with goodwill and provide him with the best
+opportunities for study. As a member of the train of the English
+ambassador, Linacre had an entree to political circles that proved of
+great service to him, and put him on a distinct footing above that of
+the ordinary English student in Italy.
+
+Partly because of these and partly because of his own interesting and
+attractive personal character, Linacre had a number of special
+opportunities promptly placed at his disposal. Church dignitaries in
+Rome welcomed him and he was at once received into scholarly circles
+wherever he went in Italy. Almost as soon as he arrived in Florence,
+where he expected seriously to take up the study of Latin and Greek,
+he became the intimate friend of the family of Lorenzo de' Medici, who
+was so charmed with his personality and his readily recognizable
+talent that he chose him for the companion of his son's studies and
+received him into his own household.
+
+Politian was at this time the tutor of the young de' Medici in Latin,
+and Demetrius Chalcondylas the tutor in Greek. Under these two eminent
+scholars Linacre obtained a knowledge of Latin and Greek such as it
+would have been impossible to have obtained under any other {88}
+circumstances, and which with his talents at once stamped him as one
+of the foremost humanistic scholars in Europe. While in Florence he
+came in contact with Lorenzo the Magnificent's younger son, who
+afterwards became Leo X. The friendship thus formed lasted all during
+Linacre's lifetime, and later on he dedicated at least one of his
+books to Alexander de' Medici after the latter's elevation to the
+papal throne.
+
+It is no wonder that Linacre always looked back on Italy as the Alma
+Mater--the fond mother in the fullest sense of the term--to whom he
+owed his precious opportunities for education and the broadest
+possible culture. In after-life the expression of his feelings was
+often tinged with romantic tenderness. It is said that when he was
+crossing the Alps, on his homeward journey, leaving Italy after
+finishing his years of apprenticeship of study, standing on the
+highest point of the mountains from which he could still see the
+Italian plains, he built with his own hands a rough altar of stone and
+dedicated it to the land of his studies--the land in which he had
+spent six happy years--under the fond title of _Sancta Mater
+Studiorum_.
+
+At first, after his return from Italy, Linacre lectured on Greek at
+Oxford. Something of the influence acquired over English students and
+the good he accomplished may be appreciated from the fact that with
+Grocyn he had such students as More and the famous Dean Colet. Erasmus
+also was attracted from the Netherlands and {89} studied Greek under
+Linacre, to whom he refers in the most kindly and appreciative terms
+many times in his after life. Linacre wrote books besides lecturing,
+and his work on certain fine points in the grammar of classical
+Latinity proved a revelation to English students of the old classical
+languages, for nothing so advanced as this had ever before been
+attempted outside Italy. In one of the last years of the fifteenth
+century Linacre was appointed tutor to Prince Arthur, the elder
+brother of Henry VIII, to whom it will be remembered that Catherine of
+Aragon had been betrothed before her marriage with Henry. Arthur's
+untimely death, however, soon put an end to Linacres' tutorship.
+
+As pointed out by Einstein, the reputation of Grocyn and Linacre was
+not confined to England, but soon spread all over the Continent. After
+the death of the great Italian humanists of the fifteenth century, who
+had no worthy successors in the Italian peninsula, these two men
+became the principal European representatives of the New Learning.
+There were other distinguished men, however, such as Vives, the
+Spaniard; Lascaris, the Greek; Buda, or Budaeus, the Frenchman, and
+Erasmus, whom we have already mentioned--all of whom joined at various
+times in praising Linacre.
+
+Some of Linacre's books were published by the elder Aldus at Venice;
+and Aldus is even said to have sent his regrets on publishing his
+edition of Linacre's translation of "The Sphere {90} of Proclus," that
+the distinguished English humanist had not forwarded him others of his
+works to print. Aldus appreciatively added the hope that the eloquence
+and classic severity of style in Linacre's works and in those of the
+English humanists generally "might shame the Italian philosophers and
+scholars out of their uncultured methods of writing."
+
+Augusta Theodosia Drane (Mother Raphael), in her book on "Christian
+Schools and Scholars," gives a very pleasant picture of how Dean
+Colet, Eramus, and More used at this time to spend their afternoons
+down at Stepney (then a very charming suburb of London), of whose
+parish church Colet was the vicar. They stopped at Colet's house and
+were entertained by his mother, to whom we find pleasant references in
+the letters that passed between these scholars. Linacre was also often
+of the party, and the conversations between these greatest students
+and literary geniuses of their age would indeed be interesting
+reading, if we could only have had preserved for us, in some way, the
+table-talk of those afternoons. Erasmus particularly was noted for his
+wit and for his ability to turn aside any serious discussions that
+might arise among his friends, so as to prevent anything like
+unpleasant argument in their friendly intercourse. A favorite way
+seems to have been to insist on telling one of the old jokes from a
+classic author whose origin would naturally be presumed to be much
+later than the date the New Learning had found for it.
+
+{91}
+
+Dean Colet's mother appears to have been much more than merely the
+conventional hostess. Erasmus sketches her in her ninetieth year with
+her countenance still so fair and cheerful that you would think she
+had never shed a tear. Her son tells in some of his letters to Erasmus
+and More of how much his mother liked his visitors and how agreeable
+she found their talk and witty conversation. They seem to have
+appreciated her in turn, for in Mother Raphael's chapter on English
+Scholars of the Renaissance there is something of a description of her
+garden, in which were to be found strawberries, lately brought from
+Holland, some of the finer varieties of which Mrs. Colet possessed
+through Erasmus's acquaintance in that country. Mrs. Colet also had
+some of the damask roses that had lately been introduced into England
+by Linacre, who was naturally anxious that the mother of his friend
+should have the opportunity to raise some of the beautiful flowers he
+was so much interested in domesticating in England.
+
+It is a very charming picture, this, of the early humanists in
+England, and very different from what might easily be imagined by
+those unfamiliar with the details of the life of the period. Linacre
+was later to give up his worldly emoluments and honors and become a
+clergyman, in order to do good and at the same time satisfy his own
+craving for self-abnegation. More was to rise to the highest positions
+in England, and then for conscience' sake was to suffer death {92}
+rather than yield to the wishes of his king in a matter in which he
+saw principle involved. Dean Colet himself was to be the ornament of
+the English clergy and the model of the scholar clergyman of the eve
+of the Reformation, to whom many generations were to look back as a
+worthy object of reverence. Erasmus was to become involved first with
+and then against Luther, and to be offered a cardinal's hat before his
+death. His work, like Newman's, was done entirely in the intellectual
+field. Meantime, in the morning of life, all of them were enjoying the
+pleasures of friendly intercourse and the charms of domestic felicity
+under circumstances that showed that their study of humanism and their
+admiration for the classics impaired none of their sympathetic
+humanity or their appreciation of the innocent delights of the
+present.
+
+For us, however, Linacre's most interesting biographic details are
+those which relate to medicine, for, besides his humanistic studies
+while in Italy, Linacre graduated in medicine, obtaining the degree of
+doctor at Padua. The memory of the brilliant disputation which he
+sustained in the presence of the medical faculty in order to obtain
+his degree is still one of the precious traditions in the medical
+school of Padua. He does not seem to have considered his medical
+education finished, however, by the mere fact of having obtained his
+doctor's degree, and there is a tradition of his having studied later
+at Vicenza under Nicholas Leonicenus, the most celebrated {93}
+physician and scholar in Italy at the end of the fifteenth century,
+who many years afterwards referred with pardonable pride to the fact
+that he had been Linacre's teacher in medicine.
+
+It may seem strange to many that Linacre, with all his knowledge of
+the classics, should have devoted himself for so many years to the
+study of medicine in addition to his humanistic studies. It must not
+be forgotten, however, that the revival of the classics of Latin and
+Greek brought with it a renewed knowledge of the great Latin and Greek
+fathers of medicine, Hippocrates and Galen. This had a wonderful
+effect in inspiring the medical students of the time with renewed
+enthusiasm for the work in which they were engaged. A knowledge of the
+classics led to the restoration of the study of anatomy, botany, and
+of clinical medicine, which had been neglected in the midst of
+application to the Arabian writers in medicine during the preceding
+centuries. The restoration of the classics made of medicine a
+progressive science in which every student felt the possibility of
+making great discoveries that would endure not only for his own
+reputation but for the benefit of humanity.
+
+These thoughts seem to have attracted many promising young men to the
+study of medicine. The result was a period of writing and active
+observation in medicine that undoubtedly makes this one of the most
+important of literary medical eras. Some idea of the activity of the
+writers of the time can be gathered from the important {94} medical
+books--most of them large folios which were printed during the last
+half of the sixteenth century in Italy. There is a series of these
+books to be seen in one of the cases of the library of the
+Surgeon-General at Washington, which, though by no means complete,
+must be a source of never-ending surprise to those who are apt to
+think of this period as a _saison morte_ in medical literature.
+
+There must have been an extremely great interest in medicine to
+justify all this printing. Some of the books are among the real
+incunabula of the art of printing. For instance, in 1474 there was
+published at Bologna De Manfredi's "Liber de Homine;" at Venice, in
+1476, Petrus de Albano's work on medicine; and in the next twenty
+years from the same home of printing there came large tomes by
+Angelata, a translation of Celsus, and Aurelius Cornelius and
+Articellus's "Thesaurus Medicorum Veterum," besides several
+translations of Avicenna and Platina's work "De Honesta Voluptate et
+Valetudine." At Ferrara, Arculanus's great work was published, while
+at Modena there appeared the "Hortus Sanitatis," or Garden of Health,
+whose author was J. Cuba. There were also translations from other
+Arabian authors on medicine in addition to Avicenna, notably a
+translation of Rhazes Abu Bekr Muhammed Ben Zankariah Abrazi, a
+distinguished writer among the Arabian physicians of the Middle Ages.
+
+Linacre's translations of Galen remain still the {95} standard, and
+they have been reprinted many times. As Erasmus once wrote to a
+friend, in sending some of these books of Galen, "I present you with
+the works of Galen, now by the help of Linacre speaking better Latin
+than they ever before spoke Greek." Linacre also translated Aristotle
+into Latin, and Erasmus paid them the high compliment of saying that
+Linacre's Latin was as lucid, as straightforward, and as thoroughly
+intelligible as was Aristotle's Greek. Of the translations of
+Aristotle unfortunately none is extant. Of Galen we have the "De
+Sanitate Tuenda," the "Methodus Medendi," the "De Symptomatum
+Differentiis et Causis," and the "De Pulsuum Usu." The latter
+particularly is a noteworthy monograph on an important subject, in
+which Galen's observations were of great value. Under the title, "The
+Significance of the Pulse," it has been translated into English, and
+has influenced many generations of English medical men.
+
+While we have very few remains of Linacre's work as a physician, there
+seems to be no doubt that he was considered by all those best capable
+of judging, to stand at the head of his profession in England. To his
+care, as one of his biographers remarked, was committed the health of
+the foremost in Church and State. Besides being the Royal Physician,
+he was the regular medical attendant of Cardinal Wolsey, of Archbishop
+Warham, the Primate of England, of Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester,
+the Keeper {96} of the Privy Seal, and of Sir Reginald Bray, Knight of
+the Garter and Lord High Treasurer, and of all of the famous scholars
+of England.
+
+Erasmus, whilst absent in France, writes to give him an account of his
+feelings, and begs him to prescribe for him, as he knows no one else
+to whom he can turn with equal confidence. After a voyage across the
+channel, during which he had been four days at sea--making a passage
+by the way that now takes less than two hours--Erasmus describes his
+condition, his headache, with the glands behind his ears swollen, his
+temples throbbing, a constant buzzing in his ears; and laments that no
+Linacre was at hand to restore him to health by skilful advice. In a
+subsequent letter he writes from Paris to ask for a copy of a
+prescription given him while in London by Linacre, but which a stupid
+servant had left at the apothecary shop, so that Erasmus could not
+have it filled in Paris.
+
+An instance of his skill in prognosis, the most difficult part of the
+practice of medicine according to Hippocrates and all subsequent
+authorities, is cited by all his biographers, with regard to his
+friend William Lily, the grammarian. Lily was suffering from a
+malignant tumor involving the hip, which surgeons in consultation had
+decided should be removed. Linacre plainly foretold that its removal
+would surely prove fatal, and the event verified his unfavorable
+prognosis. Generally it seems to have been considered that his opinion
+was of great value in all {97} serious matters, and it was eagerly
+sought for. Some of the nobility and clergy of the time came even from
+the Continent over to England by no means an easy journey, even for a
+healthy man in those days, as can be appreciated from Erasmus's
+experience just cited--in order to obtain Linacre's opinion.
+
+One of Erasmus's letters to Billibaldus Pirckheimer contains a
+particular account of the method of treatment by which he was relieved
+of his severe pain under Linacre's direction in a very tormenting
+attack of renal colic. The details, especially the use of poultice
+applications as hot as could be borne, show that Linacre thoroughly
+understood the use of heat in the relaxation of spasm, while his
+careful preparation of the remedies to be employed in the presence of
+the patient himself would seem to show that he had a very high
+appreciation of how much the mental state of the patient and the
+attitude of expectancy thus awakened may have in giving relief even in
+cases of severe pain.
+
+The only medical writings of Linacre's that we possess are
+translations. We have said already that the reversion at the end of
+the fifteenth century to the classical authorities in medicine
+undoubtedly did much to introduce the observant phase of medical
+science, which had its highest expression in Vesalius at the beginning
+of the sixteenth century and continued to flourish so fruitfully
+during the next two centuries at most of the Italian universities. His
+translations then {98} were of themselves more suggestive
+contributions to medicine than would perhaps have been any even of his
+original observations, since the mind of his generation was not ready
+as yet to be influenced by discoveries made by contemporaries.
+
+The best proof of Linacre's great practical interest in medicine is
+his realization of the need for the Royal College of Physicians and
+his arrangements for it.
+
+The Roll of the College, which comprises biographical sketches of all
+the eminent physicians whose names are recorded in the annals from the
+foundation of the College in 1518, and is published under the
+authority of the College itself, contains the best tribute to
+Linacre's work that can possibly be paid. It says: "The most
+magnificent of Linacre's labors was the design of the Royal College of
+Physicians of London--a standing monument of the enlightened views
+and generosity of its projectors. In the execution of it Linacre stood
+alone, for the munificence of the Crown was limited to a grant of
+letters patent; whilst the expenses and provision of the College was
+left to be defrayed out of his own means, or of those who were
+associated with him in its foundation." "In the year 1518," says Dr.
+Johnson, [Footnote 8] "when Linacre's scheme was carried into effect,
+the practice of medicine was scarcely elevated above that of the
+mechanical arts, nor was the majority of its practitioners {99} among
+the laity better instructed than the mechanics by whom these arts were
+exercised. With the diffusion of learning to the republics and states
+of Italy, establishments solely for the advancement of science had
+been formed with success; but no society devoted to the interests of
+learning yet existed in England, unfettered by a union with the
+hierarchy, or exempted from the rigors and seclusions which were
+imposed upon its members as the necessary obligation of a monastic and
+religious life. In reflecting on the advantages which had been derived
+from these institutions, Linacre did not forget the impossibility of
+adapting rules and regulations which accorded with the state of
+society in the Middle Ages to the improved state of learning in his
+own, and his plans were avowedly modelled on some similar community of
+which many cities of Italy afforded rather striking examples."
+
+  [Footnote 8: _Life of Linacre_, London, 1835.]
+
+Some idea of the state into which the practice of medicine had fallen
+in England before Linacre's foundation of the Royal College of
+Physicians may be gathered from the words of the charter of the
+College. "Before this period a great multitude of ignorant persons, of
+whom the greater part had no insight into physic, nor into any other
+kind of learning--some could not even read the letters on the book, so
+far forth that common artificers as smiths, weavers and women--boldly
+and accustomably took upon them great cures to the high displeasure of
+God, great infamy to the faculty, and the grievous hurt, {100} damage,
+and destruction of many of the King's liege people."
+
+After the foundation of the College there was a definite way of
+deciding formally who were, or were not, legally licensed to practise.
+As a consequence, when serious malpractice came to public notice,
+those without a license were occasionally treated in the most summary
+manner. Stowe, in his chronicles, gives a very vivid and picturesque
+description of the treatment of one of these quacks who had been
+especially flagrant in his imposition upon the people. A counterfeit
+doctor was set on horseback, his face to the horse's tail, the tail
+being forced into his hand as a bridle, a collar of jordans about his
+neck, a whetstone on his breast, and so led through the city of London
+with ringing of basins, and banished. "Such deceivers," continued the
+old chronicler, "no doubt are many, who being never trained up in
+reading or practice of physics and Chirurgery do boast to do great
+cures, especially upon women, as to make them straight that before
+were crooked, corbed, or crumped in any part of their bodies and other
+such things. But the contrary is true. For some have received gold
+when they have better deserved the whetstone." [Footnote 9] Human
+nature has not changed very much in the {101} four centuries since
+Linacre's foundation, and while the model that he set in the matter of
+providing a proper licensing body for physicians has done something to
+lessen the evils complained of, the abuses still remain; and the old
+chronicler will find in our time not a few who, in his opinion, might
+deserve the whetstone. We can scarcely realize how much Linacre
+accomplished by means of the Royal College of Physicians, or how great
+was the organizing spirit of the man to enable him to recognize the
+best way out of the chaos of medical practice in his time.
+
+  [Footnote 9: "To get the whetstone" is an old English expression,
+  meaning to take the prize for lying. It is derived from the old
+  custom of driving rogues, whose wits were too sharp, out of town
+  with a whetstone around their necks.]
+
+"The wisdom of Linacre's plan," wrote Dr. Friend, "speaks for itself.
+His scheme, without doubt, was not only to create a good understanding
+and unanimity among his own profession (which of itself was an
+excellent thought), but to make them more useful to the public. And he
+imagined that by separating them from the vulgar empirics and setting
+them upon such a reputable foot of distinction, there would always
+arise a spirit of emulation among men liberally educated, which would
+animate them in pursuing their inquiries into the nature of diseases
+and the methods of cure for the benefit of mankind; and perhaps no
+founder ever had the good fortune to have his designs succeed more to
+his wish."
+
+His plans with regard to the teaching of medicine at the two great
+English Universities did not succeed so well, but that was the fault
+not of Linacre nor of the directions left in his will, but {102} of
+the times, which were awry for educational matters. Notwithstanding
+Linacre's bequest of funds for two professorships at Oxford and one at
+Cambridge, it is typical of the times that the chairs were not founded
+for many years. During Henry VIII's time, the great effort of
+government was not to encourage new foundations but to break up old
+ones, in order to obtain money for the royal treasury, so that
+educational institutions of all kinds suffered eclipse. The first
+formal action with regard to the Linacre bequest was taken in the
+third year of Edward VI. Two lectureships were established in Merton
+College, Oxford, and one in St. John's College, Cambridge. Linacre's
+idea had been that these foundations should be University
+lectureships, but Anthony Wood says that the University had lost in
+prestige so much during Henry VIII's time that it was considered
+preferable to attach the lectureships to Merton College, which had
+considerable reputation because of its medical school. During
+Elizabeth's time these Linacre lectureships sank to be sinecures and
+for nearly a hundred years served but for the support of a fellowship.
+The Oxford foundation was revived in 1856 by the University
+Commissioners, and the present splendid foundation of the lectures in
+physiology bears Linacre's name in honor of his original grant.
+
+At the age of about fifty Linacre was ordained priest. His idea in
+becoming a clergyman, as confessed in letters to his friends, was
+partly in {103} order to obtain leisure for his favorite studies, but
+also out of the desire to give himself up to something other than the
+mere worldly pursuits in which he had been occupied during all his
+previous life. His biographer, Dr. Johnson, says: "In examining the
+motives of this choice of Linacre's, it would seem that he was guided
+less by the expectation of dignity and preferment than by the desire
+of retirement and of rendering himself acquainted with those writings
+which might afford him consolation in old age and relief from the
+infirmities which a life of assiduous study and application had tended
+to produce."
+
+The precise time of Linacre's ordination is not known, nor is it
+certain whether he was ordained by Archbishop Warham of Canterbury, or
+by Cardinal Wolsey, the Archbishop of York. He received his first
+clerical appointment from Warham, by whom he was collated to the
+rectory of Mersham in Kent. He held this place scarcely a month, but
+his resignation was followed by his installation as prebend in the
+Cathedral of Wells, and by an admission to the Church of Hawkhurst in
+Kent, which he held until the year of his death. Seven years later he
+was made prebend in the Collegiate Chapel of St. Stephen, Westminster,
+and in the following year he became prebendary of South Newbold in the
+Church of York. This was in the year 1518. In the following year he
+received the dignified and lucrative appointment of presenter to the
+Cathedral of York, for which he was indebted to Cardinal Wolsey, to
+whom {104} about this time he dedicated his translation of Galen "On
+the Use of the Pulse." He seems also to have held several other
+benefices during the later years of his life, although some of them
+were resigned within so short a time as to make it difficult to
+understand why he should have accepted them, since the expenses of
+institution must have exceeded the profits which were derived from
+them during the period of possession. Linacre owed his clerical
+opportunities during the last years of his life particularly to
+Archbishop Warham, who, as ambassador, primate, and chancellor,
+occupied a large and honorable place in the history of the times.
+Erasmus says of him in one of his letters: "Such were his vigilance
+and attention in all matters relating to religion and to the offices
+of the Church that no concern which was foreign to them seemed ever to
+distract him. He had sufficient time for a scrupulous performance of
+the accustomed exercises of prayer, for the almost daily celebration
+of the Mass, for twice or thrice hearing divine service, for
+determining suits, for receiving embassies, for consultation with the
+king when matters of moment required his presence, for the visitation
+of churches when regulation was needed, for the welcome of frequently
+two hundred guests, and lastly for a literary leisure."
+
+As the close friend of such men, it is evident that Linacre must have
+accomplished much good as a clergyman; and it seems not unlikely that
+his frequent changes of rectorship were rather {105} due to the fact
+that the Primate wished to make use of his influence in various parts
+of his diocese for the benefit of religion than for any personal
+motives on Linacre's part, who, in order to enter the service of the
+Church, had given up so much more than he could expect as a clergyman.
+
+Linacre as a clergyman continued to deserve the goodwill and esteem of
+all his former friends, and seems to have made many new ones. At the
+time of his death he was one of the most honored individuals in
+England. All of his biographers are agreed in stating that he was the
+representative Englishman of his time, looked up to by all his
+contemporaries, respected and admired by those who had not the
+opportunity of his intimate acquaintance, and heartily loved by
+friends, who were themselves some of the best men of the time.
+
+The concluding paragraph of the appreciation of Linacre's character in
+_Lives of British Physicians_ [Footnote 10] is as follows: "To sum up
+his character it was said of him that no Englishman of his day had had
+such famous masters, namely, Demetrius and Politian of Florence; such
+noble patrons, Lorenzo de' Medici, Henry VII and Henry VIII; such
+high-born scholars, the Prince Arthur and Princess Mary of England; or
+such learned friends, for amongst the latter were to be enumerated
+Erasmus, Melanchthon, Latimer, {106} Tonstal, and Sir Thomas More."
+His biographer might have added the names of others of the
+pre-Reformation period, men of culture and character whose merits only
+the historical researches of recent years have brought out--Prior
+Selling, Dean Colet (though his friendship was unfortunately
+interrupted), Archbishop Warham, Cardinal Wolsey, Grocyn, and further
+scholars and churchmen.
+
+  [Footnote 10: London. John Murray, 1830.]
+
+Dr. J. F. Payne, in summing up the opinion of Linacre held by his
+contemporaries, in the "Dictionary of National Biography" (British),
+pays a high tribute to the man. "Linacre's personal character was
+highly esteemed by his contemporaries. He was evidently capable of
+absolute devotion to a great cause, animated by genuine public spirit
+and a boundless zeal for learning." Erasmus sketches him humorously in
+the "Encomium Moriae" (The Praise of Foolishness)--with a play on the
+word _Moriae_ in reference to his great friend, Thomas More, of whom
+Erasmus thought so much--showing him a tireless student. The
+distinguished foreign scholar, however, considered Linacre as an
+enthusiast in recondite studies, but no mere pedant. Dr. Payne closes
+his appreciation with these words: "Linacre had, it would seem, no
+enemies."
+
+Caius, the distinguished English physician and scholar, himself one of
+the best known members of the Royal College of Physicians and the
+founder of Caius College, Cambridge, sketches {107} Linacre's
+character (he had as a young man known him personally) in very
+sympathetic vein. As Dr. Caius was one of the greatest Englishmen of
+his time in the middle of the sixteenth century, his opinion must
+carry great weight. It is to him that we owe the famous epitaph that
+for long in old St. Paul's, London, was to be read on Linacre's
+tombstone:--
+
+  "_Fraudes dolosque mire perosus, fidus amicis, omnibus ordinibus
+  juxta carus_. A stern hater of deceit and underhand ways, faithful
+  to his friends, equally dear to all classes,"
+
+Surely this is a worthy tribute to the great physician, clergyman,
+scholar, and philanthropist of the eve of the Reformation in England.
+
+
+{108}
+
+V.
+
+FATHER KIRCHER, S.J.:
+
+SCIENTIST, ORIENTALIST, AND COLLECTOR.
+
+{109}
+
+Oportet autem neque recentiores viros in his fraudare quae vel
+repererunt vel recte secuti sunt; et tamen ea quae apud antiquiores
+aliquos posita sunt auctoribus suis reddere.--CELSUS _de Medicina_.
+
+
+{110}
+
+[Illustration: ATHANASIUS KIRCHER]
+
+
+{111}
+
+
+V.
+
+
+FATHER KIRCHER, S.J.: SCIENTIST, ORIENTALIST, AND COLLECTOR.
+
+
+Except in the minds of the unconquerably intolerant, the Galileo
+controversy has in recent years settled down to occupy something of
+its proper place in the history of the supposed conflict between
+religion and science. In touching the subject in the life of
+Copernicus we suggested that it has come to be generally recognized,
+as M. Bertrand, the perpetual Secretary of the Paris Academy of
+Sciences, himself a distinguished mathematician and historian,
+declares, that "the great lesson for those who would wish to oppose
+reason with violence was clearly to be read in Galileo's story, and
+the scandal of his condemnation was learned without any profound
+sorrow to Galileo himself; and his long life, considered as a whole,
+was the most serene and enviable in the history of science." Somehow,
+notwithstanding the directness of this declaration, there is still
+left in the minds of many an impression rather difficult to eradicate
+that there was definite, persistent opposition to everything
+associated with scientific progress among the churchmen of the time of
+Galileo.
+
+Perhaps no better answer to this unfortunate, because absolutely
+untrue, impression could be in {112} formulated than is to be found in
+a sketch of the career of Father Athanasius Kircher, the distinguished
+Jesuit who for so many years occupied himself with nearly every branch
+of science in Rome, under the fostering care of the Church. He had
+been Professor of Physics, Mathematics, and Oriental Languages at
+Wuerzburg, but was driven from there by the disturbances incident to
+the Thirty Years' War, in 1631. He continued his scientific
+investigation at Avignon. From here, within two years after Galileo's
+trial in 1635, he was, through the influence of Cardinal Barberini,
+summoned to Rome, where he devoted himself to mathematics at first,
+and then to every branch of science, as well as the Oriental
+languages, not only with the approval, but also with the most liberal
+pecuniary aid from the ecclesiastical authorities of the papal court
+and city.
+
+Some idea of the breadth of Father Kircher's scientific sympathy and
+his genius for scientific observation and discovery, which amounted
+almost to intuition, may be gathered from the fact that to him we owe
+the first definite statement of the germ theory of disease; and he
+seems to have been the first to recognize the presence of what are now
+called microbes. At the same time his works on magnetism contained not
+only all the knowledge of his own time, but also some wonderful
+suggestions as to the possibilities of the development of this
+science. His studies with regard to light are almost as epochal as
+those with regard to magnetism. Besides these, he {113} was the first
+to find any clue to the Egyptian hieroglyphics, and yet found time to
+write a geographical work on Latium, the country surrounding Rome, and
+to make collections for his museum which rendered it in its time the
+best scientific collection in the world. It may very well indeed be
+said that visitors to Rome with scientific tendencies found as much
+that was suggestive in Father Kircher's museum--the "Kircherianum," as
+it came to be called--as artists and sculptors and architects found in
+the Vatican collections of the papal city.
+
+All of this work was accomplished within the half century after
+Galileo's trial, for Father Kircher died in 1680, at the age of
+seventy-eight, having lived, as so many of the great scientists have
+done, a long life in the midst of the most persistent activity.
+Kircher, more than perhaps any other, can be said to be the founder of
+modern natural science. Before any one else, in a practical way, he
+realized the necessity for the collection of an immense amount of
+data, if science was to be founded on the broad, firm foundation of
+observed truth. The principle which had been announced by Bacon in the
+"Novum Organon"--"to take all that comes rather than to choose, and to
+heap up rather than to register"--was never carried out as fully as by
+Father Kircher. As Edmund Gosse said in the June number of _Harper's_,
+1904, "Bacon had started a great idea, but he had not carried it out.
+He is not the founder, he is the prophet {114} of modern physical
+science. To be in direct touch with nature, to adventure in the
+unexplored fields of knowledge, and to do this by carrying out an
+endless course of slow and sure experiments, this was the counsel of
+the 'Novum Organon.'" Bacon died in 1626, and scarcely more than a
+decade had passed before Kircher was carrying out the work thus
+outlined by the English philosopher in a way that was surprisingly
+successful, even looked at from the standpoint of our modern science.
+Needless to say, however, it was not because of Bacon's suggestion
+that he did so, for it is more than doubtful whether he knew of
+Bacon's writings until long after the lines of his life-work had been
+traced by his own inquiring spirit. The fulness of time had come. The
+inductive philosophy was in the air. Bacon's formulae, which the
+English philosopher never practically applied, and Father Kircher's
+assiduous collection of data, were but expressions of the spirit of
+the times. How faithfully the work of the first modern inductive
+scientist was accomplished we shall see.
+
+It may be easily imagined that a certain interest in Father Kircher,
+apart from his scientific attainments and the desire to show how much
+and how successful was the attention given to natural science by
+churchmen about the time of the Galileo controversy, might influence
+this judgment of the distinguished Jesuit's scientific accomplishments.
+With regard to his discoveries in medicine especially, and above all
+his {115} announcement of the microbic origin of contagious disease,
+it may be thought that this was a mere chance expression and not at
+all the result of serious scientific conclusions. Tyndall, however,
+the distinguished English physicist, would not be the one to give
+credit for scientific discoveries, and to a clergyman in a distant
+century, unless there was definite evidence of the discovery. It is
+not generally known that to the great English physicist we owe the
+almost absolute demonstration of the impossibility of spontaneous
+generation, together with a series of studies showing the existence
+everywhere in the atmosphere of minute forms of life to which
+fermentative changes and also the infectious diseases--though at that
+time this was only a probability--are to be attributed. When Tyndall
+was reviewing, in the midst of the controversy over spontaneous
+generation, the question of the microbic origin of disease, he said:
+"Side by side with many other theories has run the germ theory of
+epidemic disease. The notion was expressed by Kircher and favored by
+Linnaeus, that epidemic diseases may be due to germs which enter the
+body and produce disturbance by the development within the body of
+parasitic forms of life."
+
+How much attention Father Kircher's book on the pest or plague, in
+which his theory of the micro-organismal origin of disease is put
+forward, attracted from the medical profession can be understood from
+the fact that it was submitted to three of the most distinguished
+physicians in {116} Rome before being printed, and that their
+testimony to its value as a contribution to medicine prefaced the
+first edition. They are not sparing in their praise of it. Dr. Joseph
+Benedict Sinibaldus, who was the Professor of the Practice of Medicine
+in the Roman University at the time, says that "Father Kircher's book
+not only contains an excellent resume of all that is known about the
+pest or plague, but also as many valuable hints and suggestions on the
+origin and spread of the disease, which had never before been made."
+He considers it a very wonderful thing that a non-medical man should
+have been able to place himself so thoroughly in touch with the
+present state of medicine in respect to this disease and then point
+out the conditions of future progress.
+
+Dr. Paul Zachias, who was a distinguished Roman physician of the time,
+said that he had long known Father Kircher as an eminent writer on
+other subjects, but that after reading his book on the pest he must
+consider him also distinguished in medical writing. He says: "While he
+has set his hand at other's harvests, he has done it with so much
+wisdom and prudence as to win the admiration of the harvesters already
+in the field." He adds that there can be no doubt that it would be a
+source of profit for medical men to read this little book and that it
+will undoubtedly prove beneficial to future generations. Testimony of
+another kind to the value of Father Kircher's book is to be found in
+the fact {117} that within a half-year after its publication in Latin
+it appeared in several other languages. It is too much the custom of
+these modern times to consider that scientific progress in the
+centuries before our own and its immediate predecessor was likely to
+attract little attention for many years, and was especially slow to
+make its way into foreign countries. Anything, however, of real
+importance in science took but a very short time to travel from one
+country to another in Europe in the seventeenth century, and the fact
+that scientific men generally used Latin as a common language made the
+spread of discoveries and speculations much easier even than at the
+present time. Our increased means of communication have really only
+served to allow sensational announcements of a progress in
+science--which is usually no progress at all--to be spread quite as
+effectually in modern times as were real advances in the older days.
+
+There is no good account of Father Kircher's life available in
+English, and it has seemed only proper that the more important at
+least of the details of the life of the man who thus anticipated the
+beginnings of modern bacteriology and of the relations of
+micro-organisms to disease, should not be left in obscurity. His life
+history is all the more interesting and important because it
+illustrates the interest of the churchmen of the time, and especially
+of the Roman ecclesiastical authorities, in all forms of science; for
+Father Kircher is undoubtedly one of the greatest scholars of {118}
+history and one of the scientific geniuses in whose works can be
+found, as the result of some wonderful principles of intuition
+incomprehensible to the slower intellectual operations of ordinary
+men, anticipations of many of the discoveries of the after-time. There
+is scarcely a modern science he did not touch upon, and nothing that
+he touched did he fail to illuminate. His magnificent collections in
+the museum of the Roman College demonstrate very well his extremely
+wide interests in all scientific matters.
+
+The history of Father Kircher's career furnishes perhaps the best
+possible refutation of the oft-repeated slander that Jesuit education
+was narrow and was so founded upon and rooted in authority that
+original research and investigation, in scientific matters
+particularly, were impossible, and that it utterly failed to encourage
+new discoveries of any kind. As a matter of fact, Kircher was not only
+not hampered in his work by his superiors or by the ecclesiastical
+authorities, but the respect in which he was held at Rome enabled him
+to use the influence of the Church and of great churchmen all over the
+world, with the best possible effect, for the assembling at the Roman
+College of objects of the most various kinds, illustrating especially
+the modern sciences of archeology, ethnology, and paleontology,
+besides Egyptian and Assyrian history.
+
+Athanasius Kircher was born 2 May, 1602, at Geisa, near Fulda, in
+South Germany. He was educated at the Jesuit College of Fulda, and at
+{119} the early age of sixteen, having completed his college course,
+entered the Jesuit novitiate at Mainz. After his novitiate he
+continued his philosophical and classical studies at Paderborn and
+completed his years of scholastic teaching in various cities of South
+Germany--Munster, Cologne, and Coblenz--finally finishing his
+education by theological studies at Cologne and Mainz.
+
+Toward the end of the third decade of the seventeenth century he
+became Professor of Philosophy and Mathematics at Wuerzburg. Here his
+interest in Oriental languages began, and he established a special
+course in this subject at the University of Wuerzburg. During the
+Thirty Years' War, however, the invasion of Germany very seriously
+disturbed university work, and finally in 1631 Father Kircher was sent
+by his superiors to Avignon in South France, where he continued his
+teaching some four years, attracting no little attention by his wide
+interest in many sciences and by various scientific works that showed
+him to be a man of very broad genius.
+
+In 1635, through the influence of Cardinal Barberini, he was summoned
+to Rome, where he became Professor of Mathematics and Oriental
+Languages in the famous Roman College of the Jesuits, which was
+considered at that time one of the greatest educational institutions
+in the world. His interest in science, however, was not lessened by
+teaching duties that would apparently have demanded all his time; and,
+as we shall see, he continued to issue books on the most diverse {120}
+scientific subjects, most of them illustrated by absolutely new
+experimental observations and all of them attracting widespread
+attention.
+
+Father Kircher began his career as a writer on science at the early
+age of twenty-seven, when he issued his first work on magnetism. The
+title of this volume, "Ars Magnesia tum Theorematice tum Problematice
+Proposita," shows that the subject was not treated entirely from a
+speculative standpoint. Indeed, in the preface he states that he hopes
+that the principal value of the book will be found in the fact that
+the knowledge of magnetism is presented by a new method, with special
+demonstrations, and that the conclusions are confirmed by various
+practical uses and long-continued experience with magnets of various
+kinds.
+
+Although it may be a source of great surprise, Father Kircher's genius
+was essentially experimental. He has been spoken of not infrequently
+as a man who collected the scientific information of his time in such
+a way as to display, as says the _Encyclopedia Britannica_, "a wide
+and varied learning, but that he was a man singularly devoid of
+judgment and critical discernment." He was in some respects the direct
+opposite of the opinion thus expressed, since his learning was always
+of a practical character, and there are very few subjects in this
+writing which he has not himself illustrated by means of new and
+ingenious experiments.
+
+Perhaps the best possible proof of this is to be {121} found in the
+fact that his second scientific work was on the construction of
+sun-dials, and that one of the discoveries he himself considered most
+valuable was the invention of a calculating machine, as well as of a
+complicated arrangement for illustrating the positions of the stars in
+the heavens. He constructed, moreover, a large burning-glass in order
+to demonstrate the possibility of the story told of Archimedes, that
+he had succeeded in burning the enemy's ships in the harbor at
+Syracuse by means of a large lens.
+
+But Father Kircher's surest claim to being a practical genius is to be
+found in his invention of the magic lantern. It was another Jesuit,
+Aquilonius, in his work on optics, issued in 1613, who had first
+sought to explain how the two pictures presented to the two eyes are
+fused into one, and it was in a practical demonstration of this by
+means of lenses that Kircher hit upon the invention of the projecting
+stereoscope.
+
+After his call to Rome our subject continued his work on magnetism,
+and in 1641 issued a further treatise on the subject called "Magnes"
+or "De Arte Magnetica." While he continued to teach Oriental languages
+and issued in 1644 a book with the title "Lingua AEgyptiaca
+Restituta," he also continued to apply himself especially to the
+development of physical science. Accordingly in 1645 there appeared
+his volume "Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae." This was a treatise on light,
+illustrated, as was his treatise on magnetism, by many original
+experiments and demonstrations.
+
+{122}
+
+During the five years until 1650 the department of acoustics came
+under his consideration, so that in that year we have from his pen a
+treatise called "Musurgia Universalis," with the subtitle, "The Art of
+Harmony and Discord; a treatise on the whole doctrine of sound with
+the philosophy of music treated from the standpoint of practical as
+well as theoretic science." During the next five years astronomy was
+his special hobby, and the result was in 1656 a treatise on astronomy
+called "Iter Celeste." This contained a description of the earth and
+the heavens and discussed the nature of the fixed and moving stars,
+with various considerations as to the composition and structure of
+these bodies. A second volume on this subject appeared in 1660.
+
+The variety of Father Kircher's interests in science was not yet
+exhausted, however. Five years after the completion of his two volumes
+on astronomy there came one on "Mundus Subterraneus." This treated of
+the modern subjects of geology, metallurgy, and mineralogy, as well as
+the chemistry of minerals. It also contained a treatise on animals
+that live under the ground, and on insects. This was considered one of
+the author's greatest books, and the whole of it was translated into
+French, whilst abstracts from it, especially the chapters on poisons,
+appeared in most of the other languages of Europe. Part of it was
+translated even into English, though seventeenth-century Englishmen
+were loath to draw their inspiration from Jesuit writers.
+
+{123}
+
+Jesuits were, however, at this time generally acknowledged on the
+Continent to be leaders in every department of thought, sympathetic
+coadjutors in every step in scientific progress. Strange as it may
+appear to those who will not understand the Jesuit spirit of love for
+learning, two of the most distinguished scientists whose names are
+immortal in the history of physical sciences in different departments
+during this century, Kepler and Harvey, were on intimate terms of
+friendship with the Jesuits of Germany. Harvey, on the occasion of a
+visit to the Continent, stopped for a prolonged visit with the Jesuits
+at Cologne, so that some of his English friends joked him about the
+possibility of his making converts of the Jesuits. These witticisms,
+however, did not seem to distract Harvey very much, for he returned on
+a subsequent occasion to spend some further days with his Jesuit
+scientific friends along the Rhine.
+
+In the meantime Father Kircher was issuing notable books on his always
+favorite subject of the Oriental languages. In 1650 there appeared
+"Obeliscus Pamphilius," containing an explanation of the hieroglyphics
+to be found on the obelisk which by the order of Innocent X, a member
+of the Pamfili family, was placed in the Piazza Navona by Bernini.
+This is no mere pamphlet, as might be thought, but a book of 560
+pages. In 1652 there appeared "OEdipus AEgyptiacus," that is, the
+revealer of the sphinx-like riddle of the Egyptian ancient languages.
+In 1653 a second volume of this appeared, and in 1655 a third {124}
+volume. It was considered so important that it was translated into
+Russian and other Slav languages, besides several other European
+languages. His book, "Lingua AEgyptiaca Restituta," which appeared in
+1644, when Kircher was forty-two years of age, is considered to be of
+value yet in the study of Oriental languages, and was dedicated to the
+patron, Emperor Ferdinand III, whose liberality made its publication
+possible.
+
+It is often a subject for conjecture just how science was studied and
+taught in centuries before the nineteenth, and just what text-books
+were employed. A little familiarity with Father Kircher's
+publications, however, will show that there was plenty of very
+suitable material for text-books to be found in his works. Under his
+own direction, what at the present time would be called a text-book of
+physics, but which at that time was called "Physiologia
+Experimentalis," was issued, containing all the experimental and
+demonstrative parts of his various books on chemistry, physics, music,
+magnetism, and mechanics, as well as acoustics and optics. This formed
+the groundwork of most text-books of science for a full century
+afterwards. Indeed, until the beginning of the distinctly modern
+science of chemistry with the discoveries of Priestley and Lavoisier,
+there was to be little added of serious import in science.
+
+Perhaps the most commendable feature of Father Kircher's books is the
+fact that he himself seems never to have considered that he had {125}
+exhausted a subject. The first work he published was on magnetism.
+Some twelve years later he returned to the subject, and wrote a more
+extensive work, containing many improvements over the first volume.
+The same thing is true of his studies in sound. In 1650, when not
+quite fifty years of age, he issued his "Musurgia Universalis," a
+sub-title of which stated that it contains the whole doctrine of sound
+and the practical and theoretical philosophy of music. A little over
+twenty years later, however, he published the "Phonurgia Nova," the
+sub-title of which showed that it was mainly concerned with the
+experimental demonstration of various truths in acoustics and with the
+development of the doctrine he had originally stated in the
+"Musurgia."
+
+It is no wonder that his contemporaries spoke of him as the _Doctor
+centum artium_--the teacher of a hundred arts--for there was
+practically no branch of scientific knowledge in his time in which he
+was not expert. Scientific visitors to Rome always considered it one
+of the privileges of their stay in the papal city to have the
+opportunity to meet Father Kircher, and it was thought a very great
+honor to be shown through his museum by himself.
+
+Of course, it is difficult for present-day scientists to imagine a man
+exhausting the whole round of science in this way. Many who have read
+but little more than the titles of Father Kircher's many books are
+accordingly prone to speak of him as a mine of information, but
+without any {126} proper critical judgment. He has succeeded,
+according to them, in heaping together an immense amount of
+information, but it is of the most disparate value. There is no doubt
+that he took account of many things in science that are manifestly
+absurd. Astrology, for instance, had not, in his time, gone out of
+fashion entirely, and he refers many events in men's lives to the
+influence of the stars. He even made rules for astrological
+predictions, and his astronomical machine for exhibiting the motions
+of the stars was also meant to be helpful in the construction of
+astrological tables. It must not be forgotten, however, that in his
+time the best astronomers, like Tycho Brahe and even Kepler, had not
+entirely given up the idea of the influence of the stars over man's
+destiny.
+
+As regards other sciences, there are details of information that may
+appear quite as superstitious as the belief in astrology. Kircher, for
+instance, accepted the idea of the possibility of the transmutation of
+metals. It is to be said, though, that all mankind were convinced of
+this possibility, and indeed not entirely without reason. All during
+the nineteenth century scientists believed very firmly in the absolute
+independence of chemical elements and their utter
+non-interchangeability. As the result of recent discoveries, however,
+in which one element has apparently been observed giving rise to
+another, much of this doctrine has come to be considered as
+improbable, and now the idea of possible transmutation of {127} metals
+and other chemical elements into one another appears not so absurd as
+it was half a century ago.
+
+Any one who will take up a text-book of science of a century ago will
+find in it many glaring absurdities. It will seem almost impossible
+that a scientific thinker, in his right senses, could have accepted
+some of the propositions that are calmly set down as absolute truths.
+Every generation has made itself ridiculous by knowing many things
+"that are not so," and even ours is no exception. Father Kircher was
+not outside this rule, though he was ahead of his generation in the
+critical faculty that enabled him to eliminate many falsities and to
+illuminate half-truths in the science of his day.
+
+Undoubtedly the most interesting of Father Kircher's scientific books
+is his work On the Pest, with some considerations on its origin, mode
+of distribution, and treatment, which about the middle of the
+seventeenth century gathered together all the medical theories of the
+times as to the causation of contagious disease, discussed them with
+critical judgment and reached conclusions which anticipate much of
+what is most modern in our present-day medicine. It is this work of
+Father Kircher's that is now most often referred to, and very
+deservedly so, because it is one of the classics which represents a
+landmark in knowledge for all time. It merits a place beside such
+books as Harvey on the Circulation of Blood, or even Vesalius on Human
+{128} Anatomy. As we have seen, it is now quoted from by our best
+recent authorities who attempt seriously to trace the history of the
+microbic theory of disease, and its conclusions are the result of
+logical processes and not the mere chance lighting upon truth of a
+mind that had the theories of the time before it. In it Father
+Kircher's genius is best exhibited. It has the faults of his too ready
+credibility; and his desire to discuss all possible phases of the
+question, even those which are now manifestly absurd, has led him into
+what prove to be useless digressions. But on the whole it represents
+very well the first great example of the application of the principle
+of inductive science to modern medicine. All the known facts and
+observations are collected and discussed, and then the conclusions are
+suggested.
+
+It is very interesting to trace the development of Father Kircher's
+ideas with regard to the origin, causation, and communication of
+disease, because in many points he so clearly anticipates medical
+knowledge that has only come to be definitely accepted in very recent
+times. It has often been pointed out that Sir Robert Boyle declared
+that the processes of fermentation and those which brought about
+infectious disease, were probably of similar nature, and that the
+scientist who solved the problem of the cause of fermentation would
+throw great light on the origin of these diseases. This prophetic
+remark was absolutely verified when Pasteur, a chemist who had solved
+the problem of fermentation, also solved {129} the weightier questions
+connected with human diseases. Before even Boyle, however, Father
+Kircher had expressed his opinion that disease processes were similar
+to those of putrefaction. He considered that putrefaction was due to
+the presence of certain _corpuscula_, as he called them, and these he
+said were also probably active in the causation of infectious disease.
+
+He was not sure whether or not these _corpuscula_ were living, in the
+sense that they could multiply of themselves. He considered, however,
+that this was very probable. As to their distribution, he is
+especially happy in his anticipations of modern medical progress.
+While he considered it very possible that they were carried through
+the air, he gives it as his deliberate opinion that living things were
+the most frequent agents for the distribution of the corpuscles of
+disease. He is sure that they are carried by flies, for instance, and
+that they may be inoculated by the stings of such insects as fleas or
+mosquitoes. He even gives some examples that he knew of in which this
+was demonstrated. Still more striking is his insistence on the fact
+that such a contagious disease as pest may be carried by cats and dogs
+and other domestic animals. The cat seemed to him to be associated
+with special danger in this matter, and he gives an example of a
+nunnery which had carefully protected itself against possible
+infection, but had allowed a cat to come in, with the result that some
+cases of the disease developed.
+
+{130}
+
+An interesting bit of discussion is to be found in the chapter in
+which Father Kircher takes up the consideration of the problem whether
+infectious disease can ever be produced by the imagination. He is
+speaking particularly of the pest, but there is more than a suspicion
+that under the name pest came at times of epidemics many of our modern
+contagious diseases. Father Kircher says that there is no doubt that
+worry plays an important role in predisposing persons to take the
+disease. He does not consider, however, that it can originate of
+itself, or be engendered in the person without contact with some
+previous case of pest. With regard to the question of predisposition
+he is very modern. He points out that many persons do not take the
+disease, because evidently of some protective quality which they
+possess. He is sure, too, that the best possible protection comes from
+keeping in good, general health.
+
+A curious suggestion is that with regard to the grave-diggers and
+undertakers. It has often been noted in Italy, so Father Kircher
+asserts, that these individuals as a rule did not succumb to the
+disease, notwithstanding their extreme exposure, when the majority of
+the population were suffering from it. Toward the end of the epidemic,
+however, at the time when the townspeople were beginning to rejoice
+over its practical disappearance, it was not unusual to have these
+caretakers of the dead brought down with the disease--often, too, in
+fatal form. Father {131} Kircher considers that only strong and
+healthy individuals would take up such an occupation. That the
+satisfaction of accomplishing a large amount of work and making money
+kept them in good health. Later on, however, as the result of overwork
+during the time of the epidemic and also of discouragement because
+they saw the end of prosperous times for them, they became predisposed
+to the disease and then fell victims.
+
+With regard to the prevention of the pest in individual cases, Father
+Kircher has some very sensible remarks. He says that physicians as a
+rule depend on certain medicinal protectives or on amulets which they
+carry. The amulets he considers to be merely superstitious. The
+sweet-smelling substances that are sometimes employed are probably
+without any preventive action. Certain physicians employed a
+prophylactic remedy made up of very many substances. This is what in
+modern days we would be apt to call a "gunshot prescription." It
+contained so many ingredients that it was hoped that some one of them
+would hit the right spot and prove effective. Father Kircher has
+another name for it. We do not know whether it is original with him,
+but in any case it is worth while remembering. He calls it a "calendar
+prescription," because when written it resembled a list of the days of
+the month.
+
+His opinion of this "calendar prescription" is not very high. It seems
+to him that if one ingredient did good, most of the others would be
+{132} almost as sure to do harm. The main factor in prophylaxis to his
+mind was to keep in normal health, and this seemed not quite
+compatible with frequent recourse to a prescription containing so many
+drugs that were almost sure to have no good effect and might have an
+ill effect. It is all the more interesting to find these common-sense
+views because ordinarily Father Kircher is set down as one who
+accepted most of the traditions of his time without inquiring very
+deeply into their origin or truth, simply reporting them out of the
+fulness of his rather pedantic information. In most cases it will be
+found, however, that, like Herodotus, reporting the curious things
+that had been told him in his travels, he is very careful to state
+what are his own opinions and what he owes to others and gives place
+to, though without attaching much credence to them.
+
+It must not be forgotten that his great contemporaries, Von Helmont
+and Paracelsus, were not free from many of the curious scientific
+superstitions of their time, though they had, like him, in many
+respects the true scientific spirit. Von Helmont, for instance, was a
+firm believer in the doctrine of spontaneous generation, and even went
+so far as to consider that it had its application to animals of rather
+high order. For instance, one of his works contains a rather famous
+prescription to bring about the spontaneous generation of mice. What
+was needed was a jar of meal kept in a dark corner covered by some
+soiled linen. After three weeks these elements {133} would be found to
+have bred mice. Too much must not be expected, then, of Kircher in the
+matter of crediting supposedly scientific traditions.
+
+It may seem surprising that Father Kircher's book did not produce a
+greater impression upon the medical research work and teaching of the
+day and lead to an earlier development of microbiology. Unfortunately,
+however, the instruments of precision necessary for such a study were
+not then at hand, and the gradual loss of prestige of the book is
+therefore readily to be understood. The explanation of this delay in
+the development of science is very well put by Crookshank, who is the
+professor of comparative pathology and bacteriology at King's College,
+London, and one of the acknowledged authorities on these subjects in
+the medical world. Professor Crookshank says, at the beginning of the
+first chapter of his text-book on bacteriology, in which he traces the
+origin of the science, that the first attempt to demonstrate the
+existence of the _contagium vivum_ dates back almost to the discovery
+of the microscope:--[Footnote 11]
+
+    [Footnote 11: _A Text-Book of Bacteriology_. Including the
+    Etiology and Prevention of Infectious Diseases By Edgar M.
+    Crookshank. Fourth Edition London, 1896]
+
+  Athanasius Kircher nearly two and a half centuries ago expressed his
+  belief that there were definite micro-organisms to which diseases
+  were attributable. The microscope had revealed that all decomposing
+  {134} substances swarmed with countless micro-organisms which were
+  invisible to the naked eye, and Kircher sought for similar organisms
+  in disease, which he considered might be due to their agency. The
+  microscopes which he describes obviously could not admit of the
+  possibility of studying or even detecting the micro-organisms which
+  are now known to be associated with certain diseases; and it is not
+  surprising that his teaching did not at the time gain much
+  attention. They were destined, however, to receive a great impetus
+  from the discoveries which emanated not long after from the father
+  of microscopy, Leeuwenhoek.
+
+This reference to Kircher's work, however, shows that more cordial
+appreciation of his scientific genius has come in our day, and it
+seems not unlikely that in the progress of more accurate and detailed
+knowledge of scientific origins his reputation will grow as it
+deserves. With that doubtless will come a better understanding of the
+true attitude of the scholars of the time--so many of whom were
+churchmen--to so-called physical science in contradistinction to
+philosophy, in which of course they had always been profoundly
+interested. The work done by Kircher could never have been
+accomplished but for the sympathetic interest of those who are falsely
+supposed to have been bitterly opposed to all progress in the natural
+sciences, but whose opposition was really limited to theoretic phases
+of scientific inquiry that threatened, as has scientific theory so
+often since, to prove directly contradictory to revealed truth.
+
+
+{135}
+
+VI.
+
+BISHOP STENSEN: ANATOMIST AND FATHER OF GEOLOGY.
+
+{136}
+
+God makes sages and saints that they may be fountain-heads of wisdom
+and virtue for all who yearn and aspire: and whoever has superior
+knowledge or ability is thereby committed to more effectual and
+unselfish service of his fellow-men. If the love of fame be but an
+infirmity of noble souls, the craving of professional reputation is
+but conceit and vanity. To be of help, and to be of help not merely to
+animals, but to immortal, pure, loving spirits this is the noblest
+earthly fate.--BISHOP SPALDING: _The Physician's Calling and
+Education_.
+
+
+
+[Illustration: NICOLAUS STENONIS]
+
+
+{137}
+
+VI.
+
+BISHOP STENSEN, ANATOMIST AND FATHER OF GEOLOGY.
+
+In the sketch of the life of Father Athanasius Kircher, the
+distinguished Jesuit scientist, mathematician, and Orientalist, I
+called attention to the fact that, at the very time when Galileo was
+tried and condemned at Rome, because of his abuse of Scripture for the
+demonstration of scientific thesis, a condemnation which has been
+often since proclaimed to be due to the Church's intolerant opposition
+to science, the ecclesiastical authorities at Rome invited Father
+Kircher, who was at that time teaching mathematics in Germany, to come
+to Rome, and during the next half-century encouraged him in every way
+in the cultivation of all the physical sciences of the times. It was
+to popes and cardinals, as well as to influential members of his own
+order of the Jesuits, that Father Kircher owed his opportunities for
+the foundation of a complete and magnificent museum, illustrating many
+phases of natural science--the first of its kind in the world, and
+which yet continues to be one of the noteworthy collections.
+
+During the decade in which the condemnation of Galileo and the
+invitation of Father Kircher to Rome took place, there was born, at
+{138} Copenhagen, a man whose career of distinction in science was to
+prove even more effectively than that of Kircher, if possible, that
+there was no opposition in ecclesiastical circles in Italy, during
+this century, to the development of natural science even in
+departments in respect to which the Church has, over and over again,
+been said to be specially intolerant. This scientist was Nicholas
+Stensen, the discoverer of the duct of the parotid gland, which
+conducts saliva into the mouth, and the founder, in the truest sense
+of the word, of the modern science of geology. Stensen's discovery of
+the duct which has since borne his name was due to no mere accident;
+for he was one of the really great anatomists of all time, and one
+distinguished particularly for his powers of original observation and
+investigation. To have the two distinctions, then, of a leader in
+anatomy and a founder in geology, stamps him as one of the supreme
+scientific geniuses of all time, a man not only of a fruitfully
+inquiring disposition of mind, but also one who possessed a very
+definite realization of how important for the cause of scientific
+truth is the necessity of testing all ideas with regard to things
+physical, by actual observations of nature and by drawing conclusions
+not wider than the observed facts.
+
+Notwithstanding this characteristically scientific temper of mind,
+which, according to most modern ideas, at least, would seem to be sure
+to lead him away from religious truth, Stensen at the {139} very
+height of his career as a scientist, while studying anatomy and
+geology in Italy, became a convert from Lutheranism, in which he had
+been born, to Catholicity, and thereafter made it one of the prime
+objects of his life to bring as many others as possible of the
+separated brethren into the fold of the Church. When he accepted the
+professorship of anatomy at the University of Copenhagen, it was with
+the definite idea that he might be able to use the influence of his
+position to make people realize how much of religious truth there was
+in the old Church from which they had been separated in the preceding
+century. After a time, however, his zeal led him to resign his
+position, and ask to be made a priest, in order that he might be able
+more effectively to fulfil what he now considered the main purpose of
+his life, the winning of souls to the Church. As, since his
+conversion, he had given every evidence of the most sincere piety and
+humble simplicity, his desires were granted. His book on geology,
+however, was partly written during the very time when he was preparing
+for sacred orders, and was warmly welcomed by all his Catholic
+friends. After spending some time as a missionary, and attracting a
+great deal of attention by his devout life and by the many friends and
+converts he succeeded in making, the recently converted Duke of
+Hanover asked that the zealous Danish convert should be made bishop of
+his capital city. This request was immediately granted, and Stensen
+spent several years {140} in the hardest missionary labor in his new
+field. As a matter of fact, his labors proved too much for his rather
+delicate constitution, and he died at the comparatively early age of
+forty-eight. The visitor to the University of Copenhagen marvels to
+find among the portraits of her professors of anatomy one in the robes
+of a Roman Catholic bishop. This is Stensen. In 1881, when the
+International Geographical Congress met at Bologna, it adjourned at
+the end of the session to Florence to unveil a bust of Stensen, over
+his tomb there. Here evidently is a man whose life is well worth
+studying, because of all that it means for the history of his time.
+
+Nicholas Stensen--or, as he is often called, Steno, because this is
+the Latin form of his name, and Latin was practically exclusively
+used, during his age, in scientific circles all over Europe--was born
+20 January, 1638, in Copenhagen. His father died while he was
+comparatively young, and his mother married again, both her husbands
+being goldsmiths in high repute for their skill, and both of them in
+rather well-to-do circumstances. His early education was obtained at
+Copenhagen, and the results displayed in his attainments show how well
+it must have been conducted. Later in life he spoke and wrote Latin
+very fluently and had, besides, a very thorough knowledge of Greek and
+of Hebrew. Of the modern languages, German, French, Italian, and Low
+Dutch he knew very well, mainly from residence in the various
+countries in which they {141} are spoken. A more unusual attainment at
+that time, and one showing the ardor of his thirst for knowledge, was
+an acquaintance with English. In early life he was especially fond of
+mathematics and, indeed, it was almost by accident that this did not
+become his chosen field of educational development.
+
+At eighteen he became a student of the University of Copenhagen, and
+after some preliminary studies in philosophy and philology devoted
+himself mainly to medicine. At this time the Danish University was
+especially distinguished for its work in anatomy. The famous family of
+Bartholini, who had for several generations been teaching there, had
+proved a copious source of inspiration for the students in their
+department, and as a consequence original investigation of a high
+order, with enthusiasm for the development of anatomical science, had
+become the rule. The external situation was not favorable to learning,
+for Denmark was engaged in harassing and costly wars during a
+considerable portion of the seventeenth century; yet the work
+accomplished here was, undoubtedly, some of the best in Europe. Young
+Stensen had the advantage of having Thomas Bartholini as his
+preceptor, and soon, because of his enthusiasm for science, as friend
+and father.
+
+Stensen had been at the University scarcely two years when the city of
+Copenhagen was besieged by the Swedes. Professor Lutz, of the
+University of St. Louis, who has recently written {142} an article on
+Stensen, which appeared in the _Medical Library and Historical
+Journal_ for July, 1904, says of this period:
+
+  A regiment of students numbering two hundred and sixty-six, called
+  "the black coats" on account of their dark clothes, was formed for
+  the defence of the city; upon its roster we find the name of young
+  Steno. During the day they were at work mending the ramparts, and
+  the nights were spent in repelling the attacks of the enemy. In the
+  course of this long siege, the city was compelled to cope with a
+  more formidable enemy than the Swedes--famine with all its
+  horrors--before relief came in the shape of provisions and
+  reinforcements furnished by the Dutch fleet. Throughout these
+  turbulent days the student soldiers rendered valuable services to
+  their country, and though it be true that "inter arma silent
+  musae"--"the war gods do not favor the muses"--it appears
+  nevertheless that Steno attended the lectures and dissections which
+  were conducted by the teachers in the intervals when the student
+  were not on duty.
+
+After some three years spent at the University of Copenhagen, Stensen,
+as was the custom of the times, went to pursue his post-graduate
+studies in a foreign university. Bartholini furnished him with a
+letter of recommendation to Professor Blasius, who was teaching
+anatomy at Amsterdam in Holland. Amsterdam had become famous during
+the seventeenth century for the very practical character of its
+anatomical teaching. As the result of the cordial commendation of
+Bartholini, Stensen became an inmate of the house of Professor
+Blasius, and was given {143} special opportunities to pursue his
+anatomical studies for himself. He had been but a very short time at
+Amsterdam, when he made the discovery to which his name has ever since
+been attached, that of the duct of the parotid gland. Stensen's
+discovery was made while he was dissecting the head of a sheep. He
+found shortly afterwards, however, that the canal could be
+demonstrated to exist in the dog, though it was not so large a
+structure. Blasius seems to have been rather annoyed at the fact that
+a student, just beginning work with him, should make so important a
+discovery, and wished to claim the honor of it for himself. There is
+no doubt, however, now, notwithstanding the discussion over the
+priority of the discovery which took place at the time, that Stensen
+was the first to make this important observation.
+
+Not long before, Wharton, an English observer, had demonstrated the
+existence of a canal leading from the submaxillary gland into the
+mouth. This might have been expected to lead to the discovery of other
+glandular ducts, but so far had not. As a matter of fact, the function
+of the parotid gland was not well understood at this time. During the
+discussion as to priority of discovery, Steno pointed out one fact
+which he very properly considers as the most conclusive proof that
+Blasius did not discover the duct of the gland. He says: "Blasius
+shows plainly in his treatise 'De Medicina Generali' that he has never
+sought for the duct, for he does not assign {144} to it either the
+proper point of beginning or ending, and assigns to the parotid gland
+itself so unworthy a function as that of furnishing warmth to the ear,
+so that if I were not perfectly sure of having once shown him the duct
+myself, I should be tempted to say that he had never seen it."
+
+Bartholini settled the controversy, and at the same time removed any
+discouragement that might have arisen in his young pupil's mind, by
+writing to him:--
+
+  Your assiduity in investigating the secrets of the human body, as
+  well as your fortunate discoveries, are highly praised by the
+  learned of your country. The fatherland congratulates itself upon
+  such a citizen, I upon such a pupil, through whose efforts anatomy
+  makes daily progress, and our lympathic vessels are traced out more
+  and more. You divide honors with Wharton, since you have added to
+  his internal duct an external one, and have thereby discovered the
+  sources of the saliva concerning which many have hitherto dreamed
+  much, but which no one has (permit the expression) pointed out with
+  the finger. Continue, my Steno, to follow the path to immortal glory
+  which true anatomy holds out to you.
+
+Under the stimulus of such encouragement, it is no wonder that Stensen
+continued his original work with eminent success. He published an
+extensive article on the glands of the eye and the vessels of the
+nose.
+
+Bartholini wrote to him again: "Your fame is growing from day to day,
+for your pen and your sharp eye know no rest." Later he wrote {145}
+again: "You may count upon the favor of the king as well as upon the
+applause of the learned." After three years at the University of
+Amsterdam, Steno returned to Copenhagen, where he published his
+"Anatomical Observations Concerning the Muscles and Glands." It was in
+this book that he announced his persuasion that the heart was a
+muscle. As he said himself, "the heart has been considered the seat of
+natural warmth, the throne of the soul; but if you examine it more
+closely, it turns out to be nothing but a muscle. The men of the past
+would not have been so grossly mistaken with regard to it, had they
+not preferred their imaginary theories to the results of the simple
+observation of nature." It is easy to understand that this observation
+created a very great sensation. It had much to do with overthrowing
+certain theoretic systems of medicine, and nearly a century later the
+distinguished physiologist, Haller, did not hesitate to proclaim the
+volume in which it occurs, as a "golden book."
+
+Stensen's studies in anatomy stamp him as an original genius of a high
+order, and this is all the more remarkable because his career occurs
+just in those years when there were distinguished discoverers in
+anatomy in every country in Europe. When Stensen began his work in
+anatomy, Harvey was still alive. The elder Bartholini, the first who
+ever established an anatomical museum, was another of his
+contemporaries. Among the names of distinguished anatomists {146} with
+whom Stensen was brought intimately in contact during the course of
+his studies in Holland, France and Italy are those of Swammerdam, Van
+Horne, and Malpighi. There is no doubt that his intercourse with such
+men sharpened his own intellectual activity, and increased his
+enthusiasm for original investigation in contradistinction to the mere
+accumulation of information.
+
+His contemporaries, indeed, exhausted most of the adjectives of the
+Latin language in trying to express their appreciation of his acuity
+of observation. He was spoken of as _oculatissimus_--that is, as
+being all eyes, _subtilissimus, acutissimus, sagacissimus_ in his
+knowledge of the human body, and as the most perspicacious anatomist
+of the time. Leibnitz and Haller were in accord in considering him one
+of the greatest of anatomists. In later years this admiration for
+Stensen's genius has not been less enthusiastically expressed. Haeser,
+in his "History of Medicine," the third edition of which appeared at
+Jena in 1879, says: "Among the greatest anatomists of the seventeenth
+century belongs Nicholas Steno, the most distinguished pupil of Thomas
+Bartholini. Steno was rightly considered in his own time as one of the
+greatest of anatomical discoverers. There is scarcely any part of the
+human body the knowledge of which was not rendered more complete by
+his investigations."
+
+The most valuable discovery made by Stensen was undoubtedly that the
+heart is a muscle. It {147} must not be forgotten that in his time,
+Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood was not yet
+generally accepted; indeed, there were many who considered the theory
+(as they called it) of the English investigator as one of the passing
+fads of medicine. Two significant discoveries, made after Harvey,
+served, however, to establish the theory of the circulation of the
+blood on a firm basis and to make it a definite medical doctrine. The
+most important of these was Malpighi's discovery that the
+capillaries--that is, the minute vessels at the end of the arterial
+tree on the surface of the body and in various organs--served as the
+direct connexion between the veins and the arteries. This demonstrated
+just how the blood passed from the arterial to the venous system.
+Scarcely less important, however, for the confirmation of Harvey's
+teaching was Stensen's demonstration of the muscular character of the
+tissue of the heart.
+
+Some of his observations upon muscles are extremely interesting, and,
+though he made many mistakes in explaining their function, he added
+not a little to the anatomical and physiological knowledge of the time
+in their regard. He seems to have been one of the first to recognize
+the fact that in the higher animals the heart may continue to beat for
+a considerable time after the animal is apparently dead; and, indeed,
+that by irritation of the removed heart, voluntary contractions may be
+brought about which will continue spontaneously for some moments.
+
+{148}
+
+With regard to the objections made by some, that such studies as these
+upon muscles could scarcely be expected to produce any direct result
+for the treatment of disease, or in the ordinary practice of medicine,
+Stensen said in reply that it is only on the basis of the anatomical,
+physiological, and pathological observation that progress in medicine
+is to be looked for. In spite, then, of the discouragement of the
+many, who look always for immediate practical results, Stensen
+continued his investigation, and even proposed to make an extended
+study of the mechanism of the muscular action.
+
+In the meantime, however, there had gradually been coming into his
+life another element which was to prove more absorbing than even his
+zeal for scientific discovery. It is this which constitutes the
+essential index of the man's character and has been sadly
+misunderstood by many of his biographers.
+
+Sir Michael Foster, of Cambridge, England, in his "Lectures on the
+History of Physiology," originally delivered as the Lane Lectures at
+Cooper Medical College, San Francisco, said:--
+
+  While thus engaged, still working at physiology, Stensen turned his
+  versatile mind to other problems, as well as to those of comparative
+  anatomy, and especially to those of the infant, indeed hardly as yet
+  born, science of geology. His work "De solido intra solidum" is
+  thought by geologists to be a brilliant effort toward the beginning
+  of their science
+
+  In 1672 he returned for a while to his native city of {149}
+  Copenhagen, but within two years he was back again at Florence; and
+  then there came to him, while as yet a young man of some thirty-six
+  summers, a sudden and profound change in his life.
+
+  In his early days he had heard much, too much perhaps, of the
+  doctrines of Luther. Probably he had been repelled by the austere
+  devotion which ruled the paternal roof. And, as his answer to
+  Bossuet shows, his university life and studies, his intercourse with
+  the active intellects of many lands, and his passion for inquiry
+  into natural knowledge, had freed him from passive obedience to
+  dogma. He doubtless, as did many others of his time, looked upon
+  himself as one of the enlightened, as one raised above the barren
+  theological questions which were moving the minds of lesser men
+
+Yet it was out of this sceptical state of mind, that life in Italy and
+intimate contact with ecclesiastics and religious, so often said to be
+likely not to have any such effect, brought this acute scientific mind
+into the Catholic Church. Nor did he become merely a formal adherent,
+but an ardent believer, and then an enthusiastic proselytizer. One
+American writer of a history of medicine, in his utter failure to
+comprehend or sympathize with the change that came over Stensen,
+speaks of him as having become at the end of his life a mere
+"peripatetic converter of heretics." This phase of Stensen's life has,
+however, as ample significance as any that preceded it.
+
+Steno's expectations of the professorship of anatomy at Copenhagen
+were disappointed, but the appointment went to Jacobson, whose work
+indeed is scarcely less distinguished than that of {150} his
+unsuccessful rival. The next few years Stensen passed in Paris, where
+he was assiduous in making dissections, and where he attracted much
+attention; and then, somewhat later, in Italy; in 1665 and 1666 he was
+in Rome. Thence he went to Florence, in order to perfect himself in
+Italian. The next few years he spent in this city, having received the
+appointment of body physician to the Grand Duke, as well as an
+appointment of visiting physician, as we would call it now, to the
+Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova.
+
+It was while at Florence that the whole current of Stensen's life was
+changed by his conversion to Catholicity. His position as physician to
+the Hospital of Santa Maria Nuova brought him frequently into the
+apothecary shop attached to the hospital. As a result he came to know
+very well the religious in charge of the department, Sister Maria
+Flavia, the daughter of a well-known Tuscan family. At this time she
+had been for some thirty-five years a nun. Before long she learned
+that the distinguished young physician, at this time scarcely thirty
+years of age, who was such a pleasant gentleman in all his ways, was a
+Lutheran. She began, as she told afterwards, first by prayer, and then
+by friendly suggestions, to attempt to win him to the Catholic Church.
+Stensen, who seems already to have been well-disposed toward the
+Church, and who had always been known for a wonderful purity of heart
+and simplicity of character, listened very willingly to the naive
+words of the {151} old religious, who might very well have been his
+mother.
+
+Many years later, by the command of her confessor, the good Sister
+related the detailed story of his conversion. She began very simply by
+telling him one day that if he did not accept the true Catholic faith,
+he would surely go to hell. He listened to this without any
+impatience, and she said it a number of other times, half jokingly
+perhaps, but much more than half in earnest. As he listened so kindly,
+she said to him one day that he must pray every day to God to let him
+know the truth. This he promised to do and, as she found out from his
+servant (what is it these nuns do not find out?) he did pray every
+evening. One day, while he was in the apothecary shop, the Angelus
+bell rang, and she asked him to say the Angelus. He was perfectly
+willing to say the first part of the Hail Mary, but he did not want to
+say the second part, as he did not believe in the invocation of the
+Blessed Virgin and the saints. Then she asked him to visit the Church
+of the Blessed Virgin, the Santissima Nunziata, which he did. After
+this she suggested to him that he should abstain from meat on Fridays
+and Saturdays, which he promised to do, and which the good nun found
+out once more from his servant, he actually did do. And then the
+religious thought it was time to suggest that he should consult a
+clergyman, and his conversion was not long delayed.
+
+Young Stensen seems to have been the object {152} of solicitude on the
+part of a number of the good, elderly women with whom he was brought
+in contact. He discussed with Signora Arnolfini the great difficulty
+he had in believing the mystery of the Eucharist. Another good woman,
+the Signora Lavinia Felice, seeing how interested he was in things
+Catholic, succeeded in bringing him to the notice of a prominent
+Jesuit in Florence. As his friend, Sister Maria Flavia, had
+recommended the same Father to him, he followed the advice all the
+more readily, and it was not long before his last doubts were solved.
+
+It was after his conversion that Stensen received his invitation to
+become the professor of anatomy at the University of Copenhagen. Much
+as he had become attached to Florence, the thought of returning to his
+native city was sweet; and then besides he hoped that he might be able
+to influence his countrymen in their views toward the Catholic Church.
+It was not long, however, before the bigotry of his compatriots made
+life so unpleasant for him in Copenhagen that he resigned his position
+and returned to Italy. Various official posts in Florence were open
+for him, but now he had resolved to devote himself to the service of
+the Church, and so he became a priest. His contemporary, the Cardinal
+Archbishop of Florence, said with regard to him: "Already as a member
+of a Protestant sect he had lived a life of innocence and had
+practised all the moral virtues. After his conversion he had marked
+out for himself so severe a method of life and had {153} remained so
+true to it that in a very short time he reached a high degree of
+perfection." The Archbishop does not hesitate to say that he had
+become a man of constant union with God and entirely dead to himself.
+There was very little hesitation, then, in accepting him as a
+candidate for the priesthood, and as his knowledge of theology was
+very thorough, most of the delay in raising him to that dignity came
+from his own humility and his desire to prepare himself properly for
+the privilege. He made the exercises of St. Ignatius as part of his
+preparation, and after his ordination it was a source of remark with
+how much devotion he said his first and all succeeding Masses. It was
+not long before the piety of Stensen's life attracted great attention.
+At this time he was in frequent communication with such men as Spinoza
+and Leibnitz, the distinguished philosophers. It is curious to think
+of the ardent mystic, the pantheistic philosopher, and the speculative
+scientist, so different in character, having many interests in common.
+
+It was during these years in Italy that Stensen did what must be
+considered, undoubtedly, his most important work, even more important,
+if possible, than his anatomical discoveries. This was his foundation
+of the science of geology. As has been well said in a prominent
+text-book of geology, his book on this subject sets him in that group
+of men who as prophets of science often run far ahead of their times
+to point out the path which later centuries will follow in the road of
+{154} knowledge. It is rather surprising to find that the seventeenth
+century must enjoy the privilege of being considered the cradle of
+geological knowledge. There is no doubt, however, that the great
+principles of the science were laid down in Stensen's little book,
+which he intended only to be an introduction to a more extensive work,
+but the latter was unfortunately never completed, nor, indeed, so far
+as we are able to decide now, ever seriously begun.
+
+One of the basic principles of the science of geology Stensen taught
+as follows: "If a given body of definite form, produced according to
+the laws of nature, be carefully examined, it will show in itself the
+place and manner of its origin." This principle he showed would apply
+so comprehensively that the existence of many things, hitherto
+apparently inexplicable, became rather easy of solution. It must not
+be forgotten that before this time two explanations for the existence
+of peculiar bodies, or of ordinary bodies, in peculiar places, had
+been offered. According to one school of thought, the fossils found
+deep in the earth, or sometimes in the midst of rocks, had been
+created there. It was as if the creative force had run beyond the
+ordinary bounds of nature and had produced certain things, ordinarily
+associated with life, even in the midst of dead matter. The other
+explanation suggested was that the flood had in its work of
+destruction upon earth caused many anomalous displacements of living
+things, and had buried some of the {155} animals under such
+circumstances that later they were found even beneath rocks, or deep
+down in the earth, far beyond where the animals could be supposed to
+have penetrated by any ordinary means during life.
+
+Stensen had observed very faithfully the various strata that are to be
+found wherever special appearances of the earth's surface were
+exposed, or wherever deep excavations were made. His explanation of
+how these various strata are formed will serve to show, perhaps better
+than anything else, how far advanced he was in his realization of
+ideas that are supposed to belong only to modern geology. He said:
+"The powdery layers of the earth's surface must necessarily at some
+time have been held in suspension in water, from which they were
+precipitated by their own weight. The movement of the fluid scattered
+the precipitate here and there and gave to it a level surface."
+
+"Bodies of considerable circumference," Stensen continues, "which are
+found in the various layers of the earth, followed the laws of gravity
+as regards their position and their relations to one another. The
+powdery material of the earth's strata took on so completely the form
+of the bodies which it surrounded that even the smallest apertures
+became filled up and the powdery layer fitted accurately to the
+surface of the object and even took something of its polish."
+
+With regard to the composition of the various strata of the earth, the
+father of geology {156} considered that if in a layer of rock all the
+portions are of the same kind there is no reason to deny that such a
+layer came into existence at the time of creation, when the whole
+surface of the earth was covered with fluid. If, however, in any one
+stratum portions of another stratum are found, or if the remains of
+plants or animals occur, there is no doubt that such a stratum had not
+its origin at the time of creation, but came into existence later.
+
+If there is to be found in a stratum traces of sea salt, or the
+remains of sea animals, or portions of vessels, or such like objects,
+which are only to be encountered at the bottom of the sea, then it
+must be considered that this portion of the earth's surface once was
+below the sea level, though it may happen that this occurred only by
+the accident of a flood of some kind. The great distance from the sea,
+or other body of water, at the present time, may be due to the sinking
+of the water level in the neighborhood, or by the rising up of a
+mountain from some internal terrestrial cause in the interval of time.
+He continues:--
+
+  If one finds in any layer remains of branches of trees, or herbs,
+  then it is only right to conclude that these objects were brought
+  together because of flood or of some such condition in the place
+  where they are now found. If in a layer coal and ashes and burnt
+  clay or other scorched bodies are found, then it seems sure that
+  some place in the neighborhood of a watercourse a fire took place,
+  and this is all the more sure when the whole layer consists of ashes
+  and {157} coal. Whenever in the same place the material of which all
+  the layers is composed is the same, there seems to be no doubt that
+  the fluid to which the stratum owes its origin did not at different
+  times obtain different material for its building purposes.
+
+In respect to the mountains and their formation, Stensen said very
+definitely:--
+
+  All the mountains which we see now have not existed from the
+  beginning of things. Mountains do not, however, grow as do plants.
+  The stones of which mountains are composed have only a certain
+  analogy with the bones of animals, but have no similarity in
+  structure or in origin, nor have they the same function and purpose.
+  Mountain ranges, or chains of mountains as some prefer to call them,
+  do not always run in certain directions, though this has sometimes
+  been claimed. Such claims correspond neither to reason nor to
+  observation. Mountains may be very much disturbed in the course of
+  years. Mountain peaks rise and fall somewhat. Chasms open and shut
+  here and there in them, and though there are those who pretend that
+  it is only the credulous who will accept the stories of such
+  happenings, there is no doubt that they have been established on
+  trustworthy evidence.
+
+In the course of his observations in Italy, Stensen had seen many
+mussel shells, which had been gathered from various layers of the
+earth's surface. With regard to the shells themselves, he said that
+there could be no doubt that they had come as the excretion of the
+mantle of the mussel, and that the differences that could be noted in
+them were in accordance with the varying forms of these animals. He
+pointed out, however, that some of the mussel shells found in {158}
+strata of rock were really mussel shells in every respect as regards
+the material of which they were composed as well as their interior
+structure and their external form, so that there could be no possible
+question of their origin. On the other hand, a certain number of the
+so-called mussel shells were not composed of the ordinary materials of
+which such shells are usually made up; but had indeed only the
+external form of genuine shells. Stensen considered, however, that
+even these must be regarded as originating in real mussel shells, the
+original substance having been later on replaced by other material. He
+explained this replacement process in very much the same way that we
+now suggest the explanation of various processes of petrification.
+There is no doubt that in this he went far beyond his contemporaries,
+and pointed out very clearly what was to be the teaching of
+generations long after his own.
+
+The same principles he applied to mussel shells, Stensen considered
+must have their application also to all other portions of animal
+bodies, teeth, bones, whole skeletons, and even more perishable animal
+materials that might be found buried in the earth's strata. His
+treatment of the question of the remains of plants was quite as
+satisfactory as that of the animals. He distinguished between the
+impressions of plants, the petrification of plants, the carbonization
+of plants, and then dwelt somewhat on the tendency of certain minerals
+to form dendrites, that is, branching {159} processes which look not
+unlike plants. He pointed out how easy it is to be deceived by these
+appearances, and stated very clearly the distinction between real
+plants and such simulated ones.
+
+It will be scarcely necessary for us to apologize for having given so
+much space to Stensen's work on geology. Many distinguished
+scientists, however, have insisted that no greater advance at the
+birth of a science was ever made than that which Stensen accomplished
+in his geological work. Hoffman says that after carefully studying the
+work, he has come to the conclusion that of the successors of Stensen,
+no student of the mountains down to Werner's day had succeeded in
+comprehending so many fruitful points of view in geology. None of his
+great successors in geology has succeeded in introducing so many new
+ideas into the science as the first great observer. For several
+centuries most of his successors in geology remained far behind him in
+creative genius, and so there is little progress worth while noting in
+the knowledge of the method of earth formation, until almost the
+beginning of the nineteenth century, though his little book was
+written in 1668 and 1669.
+
+Leibnitz regretted very much that Stensen did not complete his work on
+geology as he originally intended. Had he succeeded in gathering
+together all of his original observations, illustrated by the material
+he had collected, his work would have had much greater effect. As it
+was, the golden truth which he had expressed in such {160} few words,
+without being able always to state just how he had come to his
+conclusions, was only of avail to science in a limited way. Men had to
+repeat his observations long years afterwards in order to realize the
+truth of what he had laid down. Leibnitz considered that it took more
+than a century for geological science to reach the point at which it
+had been left by Steno's work, and which he had reached at a single
+bound. There is scarcely a single modern geologist interested at all
+in the history of the science who has not paid a worthy tribute to
+Steno's great basic discoveries in the science. It was not a matter
+for surprise, then, that the International Congress of Geologists
+which met at Bologna in 1881 assembled at his tomb in Florence in
+order to do him honor, after the regular sessions of the Congress had
+closed. They erected to his memory a tablet with the following
+scription:
+
+  "Nicolae Stenonis imaginem vides hospes quam aere collato docti
+  amplius mille ex universo terrarum orbe insculpendam curarunt in
+  memoriam ejus diei IV cal. Octobr. an. MDCCCLXXXI quo geologi post
+  conventum Bononiae habitum praeside Joanne Capellinio equite hue
+  peregrinati sunt atque adstantibus legatis flor Municipii et R.
+  Instituti Altiorum doctrinarum cineres viri inter geologos et
+  anatomicos praestantissimi in hujus templi hypogaeo laurea corona
+  honoris gratique animi ergo honestaverunt." [Footnote 12]
+
+    [Footnote 12: You behold here, traveller, the bust of Nicholas
+    Steno as it was set up by more than a thousand scientists from all
+    over the world, as a memorial to him, on the fourth of the Kalends
+    of October, 1881. The geologists of the world, after their meeting
+    in Bologna, under the presidency of Count John Capellini, made a
+    pilgrimage to his tomb, and in the presence of the chosen
+    representatives of the municipality, and of the learned professors
+    of the University, honored the mortal ashes of this man,
+    illustrious among geologists and anatomists.]
+
+
+{161}
+
+Stensen's work brought him in contact with some of the distinguished
+men of the seventeenth century, all of whom learned to appreciate his
+breadth of intelligence and acuity of judgment. We have already
+mentioned his epistolary relation with Spinoza, and have said
+something about the controversy with Leibnitz, into which, in spite of
+his disinclination to controversy generally, he was drawn by the
+circumstances of the time and the solicitation of friends. Another
+great thinker of the century with whom he was brought into intimate
+relationship was Des Cartes, the distinguished philosopher. In fact,
+Des Cartes's system of thought influenced Stensen not a little, and he
+felt, when describing the function of muscles in the human body, and
+especially when he demonstrated that the heart was a muscle, that the
+mechanical notions he was thus introducing into anatomy were likely to
+prove confirmatory of Des Cartes's philosophic speculations. Almost
+more than any other, Stensen was the father of many ideas that have
+since become common, with regard to the physics of the human body and
+its qualities as a machine.
+
+With his breadth of view, from familiarity {162} with the progress of
+science generally in his time, Steno's discussions of the reason for
+the lack of exact knowledge and for the prevalence of error, in spite
+of enthusiastic investigation, are worth while appreciating. He
+considered that the reason why so many portions of natural science are
+still in doubt is that in the investigation of natural objects no
+careful distinction is made between what is known to a certainty and
+what is known only with a certain amount of assurance. He discusses
+the question of deductive and inductive science, and considers that
+even those who depend on experience will not infrequently be found in
+error, because their conclusions are wider than their premises, and
+because it only too often happens that they admit principles as true
+for which they have no sure evidence. Stensen considered it important,
+therefore, not to hurry on in the explanation of things, but, so far
+as possible, to cling to old-time principles that had been universally
+accepted, since nearly always these would be found to contain fruitful
+germs of truth.
+
+He was universally acknowledged as one of the greatest original
+thinkers of his time, and his conversion to the Church did much to
+dissipate religious prejudices among those of German nationality. His
+influence over distinguished visitors who came to Florence, and who
+were very glad to have the opportunity of making his acquaintance, was
+such that not a few Northern visitors became, like himself, converts
+to the Church.
+
+{163}
+
+It was in the midst of this that the request of the Duke of Hanover
+came that he should consent to become the bishop of his capital city.
+It was only after Stensen had been put under holy obedience that he
+would consent to accept the proffered dignity. His first thought was
+to distribute all his goods among the poor, and betake himself even
+without shoes on his feet, on a pedestrian journey to Rome. First,
+however, he made a pilgrimage to Loretto, where he arrived so overcome
+by the fatigue of the journey that the clergyman who took care of him
+while there, insisted on his accepting a pair of shoes from him,
+though he could not prevail upon him to travel in any other way than
+on foot.
+
+His first action, after his consecration as bishop, was to write a
+letter, sending his episcopal benediction to Sister Maria Flavia, to
+whom he felt he owed the great privilege of his life. His lasting
+sense of satisfaction and consolation in his change of religion may be
+appreciated from what is, perhaps, the most interesting personal
+document that we have from Stensen's own hand, in which, on the
+eighteenth anniversary of his conversion, he writes to a friend to
+describe his feelings. "To-morrow," he says, "I shall finish, God
+willing, the eighteenth year of my happy life as a member of the
+Church. I wish to acknowledge once more my thankfulness for the part
+which you took under God in my conversion. As I hope to have the grace
+to be grateful to Him forever, so I sigh for the opportunity to
+express {164} my thankfulnes to you and your family. I can feel that
+my own ingratitude toward God, my slowness in His service, make me
+unworthy of His graces; but I hope that you who have helped me to
+enter his service will not cease to pray, so that I may obtain pardon
+for the past and grace for the future, in order in some measure to
+repay all the favors that have been conferred on me."
+
+The distinguishing characteristic of his life as a bishop was his
+insistence on poverty as the principal element of his existence. He
+refused to enter his diocese in state in the carriage which the Duke
+offered to provide for him, but proceeded there on foot. No question
+of supposed dignity could make him employ a number of servants, and
+his only retainers were converts made by himself, who helped in the
+household and whom he treated quite as equals. He became engaged in
+one controversy on religious matters, but said that he did not
+consider that converts had ever been made by controversies. He
+compared it, indeed, to the gladiatorial contests in which the
+contestants had their heads completely enveloped in armor, so as to
+prevent any possible penetration of the weapons of an opponent. He
+insisted especially that in religious controversies the contending
+parties do not realize the significance given to words by each other,
+and that therefore no good can result.
+
+After a time, Stensen did not find his work in Hamburg very
+satisfactory, because it was typically a missionary country, and the
+Jesuit {165} missionaries who had been introduced were accomplishing
+all that could be hoped for. Accordingly, when the Duke of
+Mecklenburg-Schwerin became a convert to the Catholic Church, and
+asked that Stensen should be sent as a bishop into his dukedom, the
+request was complied with. Here, in the hardest kind of labor as a
+missionary, and in the midst of poverty that was truly apostolic,
+Stensen worked out the remaining years of his life. At his death he
+was looked upon as almost a saint. Notwithstanding his close
+relationship with two reigning princes, he did not leave enough
+personal effects to defray the expenses of his funeral. Besides his
+bishop's ring, and the very simple episcopal cross he wore, he had
+nothing of any value except some relics of St. Francis Xavier, St.
+Ignatius Loyola, and St. Philip Neri, which he had prized above all
+other treasures.
+
+His missionary labors had not been marked by any very striking success
+in the number of converts made. In this his life would seem to have
+been a bitter personal disappointment. He never looked upon it as
+such, however, but continued to be eminently cheerful and friendly
+until the end. As a matter of fact, the influence of his career was to
+be felt much more two centuries after his death than during his
+lifetime. At the present moment, his life is well known in northern
+Germany, thanks to the biographic sketch written by Father Plenkers
+for the _Stimmen aus Maria Laach_, which has been very widely {166}
+circulated since its appearance in 1884. Something of the reaction
+among scientific minds in Germany toward a healthier orthodoxy of
+feeling, with regard to great religious questions, is undoubtedly due
+to the spread of the knowledge of the career of the great anatomist
+and geologist who gave up his scientific work for the sake of the
+spread of the higher truth.
+
+After his death the Medici family asked for and obtained the privilege
+of having his body buried in San Lorenzo at Florence, with the members
+of the princely Medici house. More and more do visitors realize that
+the tablet over his remains chronicles the death of a man who was
+undoubtedly one of the world's great scientists, and one of the most
+original thinkers of his time, and that time a period greatly fertile
+in the history of science.
+
+{167}
+
+VII.
+
+ABBE HAUeY, FATHER OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHY.
+
+
+{168}
+
+They continue this day as they were created, perfect in number and
+measure and weight, and from the ineffaceable characters impressed on
+them we may learn that those aspirations after accuracy in
+measurement, truth in statement, and justice in action, which we
+reckon among our noblest attributes as men, are ours because they are
+essential constituents of the image of Him who in the beginning
+created not only heaven and earth, but the materials of which heaven
+and earth consist.--CLERK MAXWELL _On the Molecule_, "Nature," Vol.
+VIII. 1873.
+
+
+
+[Illustration: RENE JUST HAUeY]
+
+
+{169}
+
+VII.
+
+ABBE HAUeY, [Footnote 13] FATHER OF CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
+
+  [Footnote 13: Pronounced a-ue (Century Dictionary), Nearly
+  Represented By _ah-we_.]
+
+Modern learning is gradually losing something of the self-complacency
+that characterized it in so constantly harboring the thought that the
+most important discoveries in physical science came in the nineteenth
+century. A more general attention to critical history has led to the
+realization that many of the primal discoveries whose importance made
+the development of modern science possible, came in earlier centuries,
+though their full significance was not then fully appreciated. The
+foundations of most of our modern sciences were, indeed, laid in the
+eighteenth century, but some of them came much earlier. It is genius
+alone that is able to break away from established traditions of
+knowledge, and, stepping across the boundary into the unknown, blaze a
+path along which it will be easy for subsequent workers to follow.
+Only in recent years has the due meed of appreciation for these great
+pioneers become part of the precious traditions of scientific
+knowledge.
+
+We have seen that clergymen were great original investigators in
+science in the older times and we shall find, though it may be a
+source of {170} astonishment to most people that even our modern
+science has had some supreme original workers, during the last two
+centuries, in the ranks of the Catholic clergy.
+
+The eighteenth century was not behind the seventeenth in original
+contributions made to science by clergymen. About the middle of the
+century, a Premonstratensian monk, Procopius Dirwisch by name, of the
+little town of Prenditz in Bohemia, demonstrated the identity of
+electrical phenomena with lightning, thus anticipating the work of our
+own Franklin. Dirwisch dared to set up a lightning-conductor, by which
+during thunderstorms he obtained sparks from clouds, and also learned
+to appreciate the danger involved in this experiment. When, in 1751,
+he printed his article on this subject, he pointed out this danger.
+His warning, however, was not always heeded, and at least one
+subsequent experimenter was struck dead by a charge of electricity.
+
+Just at the junction of the last two centuries, Father Piazzi enriched
+the realm of science by one of the most important of modern
+discoveries in astronomy. On the night of 31 December, 1800--1
+January, 1801, he discovered the little planet Ceres. This was the
+first of the asteroids, so many more of which were to be revealed to
+astronomical study during the next half-century. Father Piazzi's
+discovery was made, not by accident, but as the result of detailed
+astronomical work of the most painstaking character. He {171} had set
+out to make a map of the heavens, and to determine and locate the
+absolute position of all the visible stars. He had succeeded in
+cataloguing over 7,000 stars when his attention was called to one,
+hitherto supposed to be fixed, which he found had moved, during the
+interval between two observations, from its original position. He made
+still other observations, and thus determined the fact that it was a
+planetoid and not a fixed star with which he had to deal. Needless to
+say, his discovery proved a strong incentive to patient astronomical
+study of the same kind; and it is to these, rather than to great
+single discoveries, that we owe whatever progress in astronomy was
+made during the nineteenth century.
+
+Contemporary with both of these last-mentioned men, and worthy to
+share in the scientific honors that were theirs, was the Abbe Hauey,
+who toward the end of the second half of the eighteenth century
+founded the science of crystallography; made a series of observations
+the value of which can never be disputed, originated theories some of
+which have served down to our own time as the basis of crystal
+knowledge, and attracted the attention of many students to the new
+science because of his charming personal character and his winning
+teaching methods. His life is a typical example of the value of work
+done in patient obscurity, founded on observation, and not on
+brilliant theories; and what he accomplished stamps him as one of the
+great {172} scientific geniuses of all time--one of the men who
+widened the bounds of knowledge in directions hitherto considered
+inaccessible to the ordinary methods of human investigation.
+
+It is a commonplace of the lecturer on popular science at the present
+day, that the impulse to the development of our modern scientific
+discoveries which became so marked toward the end of the eighteenth
+century, was due in a noteworthy degree to the work of the French
+Encyclopedists. Their bringing together of all the details of
+knowledge in a form in which it could be readily consulted, and in
+which previous progress and the special lines of advance could be
+realized, might be expected to prove a fruitful source of suggestive
+investigation. As a matter of fact, however, a detailed knowledge of
+the past in science often seems to be rather a hindrance than a help
+to original genius, always prone to take its own way if not too much
+disturbed by the conventional knowledge already gained. Most of the
+great discoverers in science were comparatively young men when they
+began their careers as original investigators; and it was apparently
+their freedom from the incubus of too copious information that left
+their minds untrammelled to follow their own bent in seeking for
+causes where others had failed to find any hints of possible
+developments.
+
+This was certainly the case with regard to many of those distinguished
+founders who lived in centuries prior to the nineteenth. Most of {173}
+them were men under thirty years of age, and not one of them had been
+noted, before he began his own researches, for the extent of his
+knowledge in the particular department of science in which his work
+was to prove so fruitful. Their lives illustrate the essential
+difference there is between theory and observation in science. The
+theorizer reaches conclusions that are popular as a rule in his own
+generation, and receives the honor due to a progressive scientist; the
+observer usually has his announcements of what he has actually seen
+scouted by those who are engaged in the same studies, and it is only
+succeeding generations who appreciate how much he really accomplished.
+
+This was especially exemplified in the case of the Abbe Hauey, whose
+work in crystallography was to mean so much. What he learned was not
+from books, but from contact with the actual objects of his department
+of science; and it is because the example of a life like this can
+scarcely fail to serve a good purpose for the twentieth-century
+student, in impressing the lesson of the value of observation as
+opposed to theory, that its details are retold.
+
+Rene Just Hauey was born 28 February, 1743, in the little village of
+Saint-Just, in the Department of Oise, somewhat north of the center of
+France. Like many another great genius, he was the son of very poor
+parents. His father was a struggling linen-weaver, who was able to
+support himself only with difficulty. At first {174} there seemed to
+be no other prospect for his eldest son than to succeed to his
+father's business. Certainly there seemed to be no possibility that he
+should be able to gain his livelihood by any other means than by the
+work of his hands.
+
+Fortunately, however, there was in Hauey's native town a
+Premonstratensian monastery, and it was not long before some of the
+monks began to notice that the son of the weaver was of an especially
+pious disposition and attended church ceremonies very faithfully. The
+chance was given to him to attend the monastery school, and he
+succeeded admirably in his studies. As a consequence, the prior had
+his attention directed to the boy, and found in him the signs of a
+superior intelligence. He summoned the lad's parents and discussed
+with them the possibility of obtaining for their son an education.
+There were many difficulties in the way, but the principal one was
+their absolute financial inability to help him. If the son was to
+obtain an education, it must be somehow through his own efforts, and
+without any expense to his parents.
+
+The prior thereupon obtained for young Hauey a position as a member of
+a church choir in Paris; and, later, some of those to whom he had
+recommended the boy secured for him a place in the college of Navarre.
+Here, during the course of a few years, he made such an impression
+upon the members of the faculty that they asked him to become one of
+the teaching corps of the institution. It was a very modest position
+that he {175} held, and his salary scarcely more than paid for his
+board and clothes and a few books. Hauey was well satisfied, however,
+because his position provided him with opportunities for pursuing the
+studies for which he cared most. At this time he was interested mainly
+in literature, and succeeded in learning several languages, which were
+to be of considerable use to him later on in his scientific career.
+
+After some years spent in the college of Navarre he was ordained
+priest, and not long afterward became a member of the faculty of the
+college of Cardinal Lemoine. Here his position was somewhat better,
+and he was brought in contact with many of the prominent scholars of
+Paris. He seems, however, to have been quite contented in his rather
+narrow circle of interests, and was not specially anxious to advance
+himself. It is rather curious to realize that a man who was later to
+spend all his time in the pursuit of the physical sciences, knew
+practically nothing at all about them, and certainly had no special
+interest in any particular branch of science, until he reached the age
+of almost thirty years.
+
+Even then his first introduction to serious science did not come
+because of any special interest that had been aroused in his own mind,
+but entirely because of his friendship for a distinguished old
+fellow-professor, whose walks he used to share, and who was deeply
+interested in botany. This was the Abbe Lhomond, a very {176}
+well-known scholar, to whom we owe a number of classic text-books
+arranged especially for young folk.
+
+The Abbe's recreation consisted in botanizing expeditions; and Hauey,
+who had chosen the kindly old priest as his spiritual director, was
+his most frequent companion. Occasionally, when M. Lhomond was ailing,
+and unable to take his usual walks, Hauey spent the time with him. He
+rather regretted the fact that he did not know enough about botany to
+be able to make collections of certain plants to bring to the
+professor at such times, in order that the latter might not entirely
+miss his favorite recreation. Accordingly, one summer when he was on
+his vacation at his country home, he asked one of the
+Premonstratensian monks, who was very much interested in botany, to
+teach him the principles of the science, so as to enable him to
+recognize various plants. Of course his request was granted. He
+expected to have a pleasant surprise for Abbe Lhomond on his return,
+and to draw even closer in his friendly relations with him, because of
+their mutual interest in what the old Abbe called his _scientia
+amabilis_ (lovely science). His little plan worked to perfection, and
+there was won for the study of physical science a new recruit, who was
+to do as much as probably any one of his generation to extend
+scientific knowledge in one department, though that department was
+rather distant from botany.
+
+Hauey's interest in botany, however, was to {177} prove only temporary.
+It brought him in contact with other departments of natural history,
+and it was not long before he found that his favorite study was that
+of minerals, and especially of the various forms of crystals. So
+absorbed did he become in this subject that nothing pleased him better
+than the opportunity to spend long days in the investigation of the
+comparative size and shape of the crystals in the museum at Paris. A
+friend has said of him that, whether they were the most precious
+stones and gems or the most worthless specimens of ordinary minerals,
+it was always only their crystalline shape that interested Hauey.
+Diamonds he studied, but only in order to determine their angles; and
+apparently they had no more attraction for him than any other
+well-defined crystal--much less, indeed, than some of the more complex
+crystalline varieties, which attracted his interest because of the
+difficulty of the problems they presented.
+
+Like many another advance in science, Hauey's first great original step
+in crystallography was the result of what would be called a lucky
+accident. These accidents, however, be it noted, happen only to
+geniuses who are capable of taking advantage of them. How many a man
+had seen an apple fall from a tree before this little circumstance
+gave Newton the hint from which grew, eventually, the laws of gravity!
+Many a man, doubtless, had seen little boys tapping on logs of wood,
+to hear how well sound was {178} carried through a solid body, without
+getting from this any hint, such as Laennec derived from it, for the
+invention of the stethoscope. So, too, many a person before Hauey's
+time had seen a crystal fall and break, leaving a smooth surface,
+without deriving any hint for the explanation of the origin of
+crystals.
+
+According to the familiar story, Hauey was one day looking over a
+collection of very fine crystals in the house of Citizen Du Croisset,
+Treasurer of France. He was examining an especially fine specimen of
+calcspar, when it fell from his hands and was broken. Of course the
+visitor was much disturbed by this accident. His friend, however, in
+order to show him that he was not at all put out at the breaking of
+the crystal, insisted on Hauey's taking it with him for purposes of
+study, as they had both been very much interested in the perfectly
+smooth plane of the fracture. As Hauey himself says, this broken
+portion had a peculiarly brilliant lustre, "polished, as it were by
+nature," as beautifully as the outer portions of the crystal; thus
+demonstrating that in building up of so large a crystal there must
+have been certain steps of progress, at any of which, were the
+formation arrested, smooth surfaces would be found.
+
+On taking the crystal home, Hauey proceeded further to break up the
+smaller fragment; and he soon found that he could remove slice after
+slice of it, until there was no trace of the original prism, but in
+place of it a rhomboid, {179} perfectly similar to Iceland spar, and
+lying in the middle of what was the original prism. This fact seemed
+to him very important. From it he began the development of a theory of
+crystallization, using this observation as the key. Before this time
+it had been hard for students of mineralogy to understand how it was
+that substances of the same composition might yet have what seemed to
+be different crystalline forms. Calcspar, for instance, might be found
+crystallized in forms, apparently, quite at variance with one another.
+
+By his studies, however, Hauey was able to determine that whenever
+substances of the same composition crystallized, even though the
+external form of the crystals seemed to be different, all of them were
+found to have the same internal nucleus. Whenever the mineral under
+observation was chemically different from another, then the nucleus
+also had a distinctive character; and so there came the law that all
+substances of the same kind crystallized in the same way,
+notwithstanding apparent differences. Indeed, one of the first results
+of this law was the recognition of the fact that when the crystalline
+forms of two minerals were essentially different, then, no matter how
+similar they might be, there was sure to be some chemical difference.
+This enabled Hauey to make certain prophecies with regard to the
+composition of minerals.
+
+A number of different kinds of crystals had been classed together
+under the name of {180} heavyspar. Some of these could not, by the
+splitting process, be made to produce _nuclei_ of similar forms, and
+the angles of the crystals were quite different. Hauey insisted that,
+in spite of close resemblances, there was an essential distinction in
+the chemical composition of these two different crystalline
+formations; and before long careful investigation showed that, while
+many of the specimens called heavyspar contain barium, some of them
+contain a new substance--strontium--which had been very little
+studied heretofore. This principle did not prove to be absolute in its
+application; but the amount of truth in it attracted attention to the
+subject of crystallography because of the help which that science
+would afford in the easy recognition of the general chemical
+composition of mineral substances. The most important part of Hauey's
+work was the annunciation of the law of symmetry. He emphasized the
+fact that the forms of crystals are not irregular or capricious, but
+are very constant and definite, and founded on absolutely fixed and
+ascertainable laws. He even showed that, while from certain
+crystalline nuclei sundry secondary forms may be derived, there are
+other forms that cannot by any possibility occur. Any change of
+crystalline form noticed in his experiments led to a corresponding
+change along all similar parts of the crystal. The angles, the edges,
+the faces, were modified in the same way, at the same time. All these
+elements of mensuration within the crystal Hauey thought could be
+indicated by rational coefficients.
+
+{181}
+
+Crystallography, however, did not absorb all Hauey's attention. He
+further demonstrated his intellectual power by following out other
+important lines of investigation that had been suggested by his study
+of crystals. It is to him more than to any other, for instance, that
+is due the first steps in our knowledge of pyro-(or thermo-)
+electricity. Mr. George Chrystal, professor of mathematics at the
+University of St. Andrews, in the article on electricity written for
+the ninth edition of the Encyclopedia, says it was reserved for the
+Abbe Hauey in his Treatise on Mineralogy to throw a clear light on this
+curious branch of the science of electricity.
+
+To those who are familiar with the history of the development of this
+science it will be no surprise to find a clergyman playing a prominent
+role in its development. During the days of the beginning of
+electricity many ecclesiastics seem to have been particularly
+interested in the curious ways of electrical phenomena, and as a
+consequence they are the original discoverers of some of the most
+important early advances. Not long before this, Professor Gordon, a
+Scotch Benedictine monk who was teaching at the University of Erfurt,
+constructed the first practical electrical machine. Kleist, who is one
+of the three men to whom is attributed the discovery of the principle
+of storing and concentrating electricity, and who invented the Leyden
+Jar, which was named after the town where it was first manufactured,
+was also a member of a Religious Order. As {182} we have already
+stated, Dirwisch, the Premonstratensian monk, set up a
+lightning-conductor by which he obtained sparks from the clouds even
+before our own Franklin.
+
+Abbe Hauey was only following a very common precedent, then, when he
+succeeded by his original research in setting the science of
+pyro-electricity firmly on its feet. It is true, others before him had
+noted that substances like tourmaline possessed electrical properties.
+There is even some good reason for thinking that the _lyncurium_ of
+the ancients which, according to certain of the Greek philosophers,
+especially Theophrastus, who seems to have made a close study of the
+subject, attracted light bodies, was really our modern tourmaline. In
+modern times the Dutch found this mineral in Ceylon and, because it
+attracted ashes and other light substances to itself, called it
+_aschentriker_--that is, attractor of ashes. Others had still further
+experimented with this curious substance and its interesting
+electrical phenomena. It remained for Abbe Hauey, however, to
+demonstrate the scientific properties of tourmaline and the relations
+which its electrical phenomena bore toward the crystalline structure
+of the mineral. He showed that the electricity of tourmaline decreases
+rapidly from the summits or poles toward the middle of the crystal. As
+a matter of fact, at the middle of the crystal its electrical power
+becomes imperceptible.
+
+He showed also that each particle of a crystal {183} that exhibits
+pyro-electricity is itself a source of the same sort of electricity
+and exhibits polarity. His experimental observations served to prove
+also that the pyro-electric state has an important connexion with the
+want of symmetry in the crystals of the substances that exhibit this
+curious property. In tourmaline, for instance, he found the vitreous
+charge always at the summit of the crystal which had six faces, and
+the resinous electricity at the summit of the crystal with three
+faces.
+
+His experiments soon showed him, too, that there were a number of
+other substances, besides tourmaline, which possessed this same
+electrical property when subjected to heat in the crystalline stage.
+Among these were the Siberian and Brazilian topaz, borate of magnesia,
+mesotype, sphene, and calamine. In all of these other pyro-electrical
+crystals, Hauey detected a corresponding deviation from the rules of
+symmetry in their secondary crystals to that which occurs in
+tourmaline. In a word, after he had concluded his experiments and
+observations there was very little left for others to add to this
+branch of science, although such distinguished men as Sir David
+Brewster in England were among his successors in the study of the
+peculiar phenomena of pyro-electricity.
+
+It may naturally enough be thought that, born in the country, of poor
+parents, and compelled to work for his living, Hauey would at least
+have the advantage of rugged health to help him in his {184} career.
+He had been a delicate child, however; and his physical condition
+never improved to such an extent as to inure him to hardships of any
+kind. One of his biographers has gone so far as to say that his life
+was one long malady. The only distraction from his almost constant
+suffering was his studies. Yet this man lived to be nearly eighty
+years of age, and accomplished an amount of work that might well be
+envied even by the hardiest.
+
+In the midst of his magnificent success as a scientist, Hauey was
+faithful to all his obligations as a priest. His name was known
+throughout Europe, and many of the scientific societies had considered
+that they were honoring themselves by conferring titles, or degrees,
+upon him; but he continued to be the humble, simple student that he
+had always been.
+
+At the beginning of the Revolution, Abbe Hauey was among the priests
+who refused the oath which the Republican government insisted on their
+taking, and which so many of them considered derogatory to their duty
+as churchmen. Those who refused were thrown into prison, Hauey among
+them. He did not seem to mind his incarceration much, but he was not a
+little perturbed by the fact that the officers who made the arrest
+insisted on taking his precious papers, and that his crystals were all
+tossed aside and many of them broken. For some time he was kept in
+confinement with a number of other members of the faculty of the
+University, mainly {185} clergymen, in the Seminary of St. Firmin,
+which had been turned into a temporary jail.
+
+Hauey did not allow his studies to be entirely interrupted by his
+imprisonment. He succeeded in obtaining permission to have his
+cabinets of crystals brought to his cell, and he continued his
+investigation of them. It was not long before powerful friends, and
+especially his scientific colleague, Gregory St. Hilaire, interested
+themselves in his case, and succeeded in obtaining his liberation.
+When the order for his release came, however, Hauey was engaged on a
+very interesting problem in crystallography, and he refused to
+interrupt his work and leave the prison. It was only after
+considerable persuasion that he consented to go the next morning. It
+may be added that only two weeks later many from this same prison were
+sent to the guillotine.
+
+It is rather remarkable that the Revolutionary government, after his
+release, did not disturb him in any way. He was so much occupied with
+his scientific pursuits that he seems to have been considered
+absolutely incapable of antagonizing the government; and, as he had no
+enemies, he was not denounced to the Convention. This was fortunate,
+because it enabled him to pursue his studies in peace. There was many
+another member of the faculty of the University who had not the same
+good fortune. Lavoisier was thrown into prison, and, in spite of all
+the influence that could be brought to bear, the great discoverer of
+oxygen met his death by the guillotine. At least {186} two others of
+the professors in the physical department, Borda and De Lambre, were
+dismissed from their posts. Hauey, though himself a priest who had
+refused to take the oath, and though he continued to exercise his
+religious functions, did not hesitate to formulate petitions for his
+imprisoned scientific friends; yet, because of his well-known
+gentleness of character, this did not result in arousing the enmity of
+any members of the government, or attracting such odious attention as
+might have made his religious and scientific work extremely difficult
+or even prevented it entirely.
+
+Notwithstanding the stormy times of the French Revolution and the
+stirring events going on all round him in Paris, Hauey continued to
+study his crystals in order to complete his observations; and then he
+embodied his investigations and his theories in his famous "Treatise
+on Crystallography." This attracted attention not only on account of
+the evident novelty of the subject, but more especially because of the
+very thorough method with which Hauey had accomplished his work. His
+style, says the historian of crystallography, was "perspicuous and
+elegant. The volume itself was noteworthy for its clear arrangement
+and full illustration by figures." In spite of its deficiencies, then
+deficiencies which must exist in any ground-breaking work--this
+monograph has had an enduring influence. Some of the most serious
+flaws in his theory were soon brought to light because of the very
+stimulus afforded by his investigations.
+
+{187}
+
+As to the real value of his treatise, perhaps no better estimate can
+be formed than that given by Cuvier in his collection of historical
+eulogies (Vol. III, p. 155): "In possession of a large collection, to
+which there flowed from all sides the most varied minerals, arranged
+with the assistance of young, enthusiastic, and progressive students,
+it was not long before there was given back to Hauey the time which he
+had apparently wasted over other things. In a few years he raised up a
+wondrous monument, which brought as much glory to France as it did
+somewhat later to himself. After centuries of neglect, his country at
+one bound found itself in the first rank in this department of natural
+science. In Hauey's book are united in the highest degree two qualities
+which are seldom associated. One of these is that it was founded on an
+original discovery which had sprung entirely from the genius of its
+author; and the other is that this discovery is pursued and developed
+with almost unheard-of persistence down even to the least important
+mineral variety. Everything in the work is great, both as regards
+conception and detail. It is as complete as the theory it announces."
+
+It was not surprising, then, that, after the death of Professor
+Dolomieu, Hauey should be raised to the chair of mineralogy and made
+director of that department in the Paris Museum of Natural History.
+Here he was to have new triumphs. We have already said that his book
+was noted for the elegance of its style and its perspicuity. {188} As
+the result of this absolute clearness of ideas, and completeness and
+simplicity of expression, Hauey attracted to him a large number of
+pupils. Moreover, all those interested in the science, when they came
+in contact with him, were so charmed by his grace and simplicity of
+manner that they were very glad to attend his lectures and to be
+considered as his personal friends. Among his listeners were often
+such men as La Place, Berthollet, Fourcroy, Lagrange and Lavoisier.
+
+It was not long before honors of all kinds, degrees from universities
+and memberships in scientific societies all over Europe, began to be
+heaped upon Hauey. They did not, however, cause any change in the
+manners or mode of life of the simple professor of old times. Every
+day he continued to take his little walks through the city, and was
+very glad to have opportunity to be of assistance to others. He showed
+strangers the way to points of interest for which they inquired,
+whenever it was necessary, obtained entrance cards for them to the
+collection; and not a few of those who were thus enabled to take
+advantage of his kindness failed to realize who the distinguished man
+was to whom they owed their opportunities. His old-fashioned clothing
+still continued to be quite good enough for him, and his modest
+demeanor and simple speech did not betray in any way the distinguished
+scientist he had become.
+
+Some idea of the consideration in which the {189} Abbe Hauey was held
+by his contemporaries may be gathered from the fact that several of
+the reigning monarchs of Europe, as well as the heirs apparent to many
+thrones, came at some time or other to visit him, to see his
+collection, and to hear the kindly old man talk on his hobby. There
+was only one other scientist in the nineteenth century--and that was
+Pasteur, toward the end of it--who attracted as much attention from
+royalty. Among Hauey's visitors were the King of Prussia, the Emperor
+of Austria, the Archduke John, as well as the Emperor of Russia and
+his two brothers, Nicholas and Michael, the first of whom succeeded
+his elder brother, Alexander, to the throne, and half a century later
+was ruling Russia during the Crimean War. The Prince Royal of Denmark
+spent a portion of each year for several years with Hauey, being one of
+his intimates, who was admitted to his room while he was confined to
+his bed, and who was permitted to share his personal investigations
+and scientific studies.
+
+His most striking characteristic was his suavity toward all. The
+humblest of his students was as sure to receive a kindly reception
+from him, and to have his difficulties solved with as much patience as
+the most distinguished professor in this department. It was said that
+he had students of all classes. The attendants at the normal school
+were invited to visit him at his house, and he permitted them to learn
+all his secrets. When they came to him for a whole {190} day, he
+insisted on taking part in their games, and allowed them to go home
+only after they had taken supper with him. All of them looked upon him
+as a personal friend, and some of them were more confidential with him
+than with their nearest relatives. Many a young man in Paris during
+the troublous times of the Revolutionary period found in the good Abbe
+Hauey not only a kind friend, but a wise director and another father.
+
+It is said that one day, when taking his usual walk, he came upon two
+former soldiers who were just preparing to fight a duel and were on
+their way to the dueling ground. He succeeded in getting them to tell
+him the cause of their quarrel, and after a time tempted them to come
+with him into what I fear we should call at the present day a saloon.
+Here, over a glass of wine, he finally persuaded them to make peace
+and seal it effectually. It is hard to reconcile this absolute
+simplicity of character and kindness of heart with what is sometimes
+assumed to be the typical, distant, abstracted, self-centered ways of
+the great scientist.
+
+Few men have had so many proofs of the lofty appreciation of great
+contemporaries. Many incidents serve to show how much Napoleon thought
+of the distinguished scholar who had created a new department of
+science and attracted the attention of the world to his splendid work
+at Paris. Not long after he became emperor, Napoleon named him
+Honorary Canon of the {191} Cathedral of Notre Dame; and when he
+founded the Legion of Honor, he made the Abbe one of the original
+members. Shortly after these dignities had been conferred upon him, it
+happened that the Abbe fell ill; and Napoleon, having sent his own
+physician to him, went personally to call on him in his humble
+quarters, saying to the physician: "Remember that you must cure Abbe
+Hauey, and restore him to us as one of the glories of our reign." After
+Napoleon's return from Elba, he told the Abbe that the latter's
+"Treatise on Crystallography" was one of the books that he had
+specially selected to take with him to Elba, to while away the leisure
+that he thought he would have for many years. Abbe Hauey's independence
+of spirit, and his unselfish devotion to his native country, may be
+best appreciated from the tradition that after the return from Elba,
+when there was a popular vote for the confirmation of Napoleon's
+second usurpation, the old scientist voted, No.
+
+In spite of his constant labor at his investigations, his uniformly
+regular life enabled him to maintain his health, and he lived to the
+ripe age of over seventy-nine. Toward the end of his career, he did
+not obtain the recognition that his labors deserved. After the
+Restoration, he was not in favor with the new authorities in France,
+and he accordingly lost his position as professor at the University.
+The absolute simplicity of life that he had always maintained now
+stood him in good stead; and, notwithstanding the {192} smallness of
+his income, he did not have to make any change in his ordinary
+routine. Unfortunately, an accidental fall in his room at the
+beginning of his eightieth year confined him to his bed; and then his
+health began to fail very seriously. He died on the 3 June, 1822.
+
+He had shown during his illness the same gentleness and humility, and
+even enthusiasm for study whenever it was possible, that had always
+characterized him. While he was confined to his bed he divided his
+time between prayer, attention to the new edition of his works which
+was about to appear, and his interest for the future of those students
+who had helped him in his investigations. Cuvier says of him that "he
+was as faithful to his religious duties as he was in the pursuit of
+his studies. The profoundest speculations with regard to weighty
+matters of science had not kept him from the least important duty
+which ecclesiastical regulations might require of him." There is,
+perhaps, no life in all the history of science which shows so clearly
+how absolutely untrue is the declaration so often made, that there is
+essential opposition between the intellectual disposition of the
+inquiring scientist and those other mental qualities which are
+necessary to enable the Christian to bow humbly before the mysteries
+of religion, acknowledge all that is beyond understanding in what has
+been revealed, and observe faithfully all the duties that flow from
+such belief.
+
+{193}
+
+VIII.
+
+ABBOT MENDEL: A NEW OUTLOOK IN HEREDITY.
+
+
+
+There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers having
+been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one;
+and that, while this planet has gone circling on according to the
+fixed law of gravity from so simple a beginning, endless forms, most
+beautiful and most wonderful, have been and are being evolved.--
+Closing sentence of DARWIN'S _Origin of Species_.
+
+
+{194}
+
+[Illustration: GREGOR MENDEL]
+
+
+{195}
+
+
+VIII.
+
+ABBOT MENDEL, [Footnote 14]: A NEW, OUTLOOK IN HEREDITY.
+
+  [Footnote 14: The portrait of Abbot Mendel which precedes this
+  sketch was kindly furnished by the Vicar of the Augustinian
+  Monastery of Bruenn. It represents him holding a fuchsia, his
+  favorite flower, and was taken in 1867, just as he was completing
+  the researches which were a generation later to make his name so
+  famous. The portrait has for this reason a very special interest as
+  a human document. We may add that the sketch of Abbot Mendel which
+  appears here was read by the Very Rev. Klemens Janetschek, the
+  Vicar of the Monastery, who suggested one slight change in it, so
+  that it may be said to have had the revision of one who knew him and
+  his environment very well.]
+
+
+Scientific progress does not run in cycles of centuries, and as a rule
+it bears no relationship to the conventional arrangement of years. As
+has been well said--for science a new century begins every second.
+There are interesting coincidences, however, of epoch-making
+discoveries in science corresponding with the beginning of definite
+eras in time that are at least impressive from a mnemonic standpoint,
+if from no other.
+
+The very eve of the nineteenth century saw the first definite
+formulation of the theory of evolution. Lamarck, the distinguished
+French biologist, stated a theory of development in nature which,
+although it attracted very little attention {196} for many years after
+its publication, has come in our day to be recognized as the most
+suggestive advance in biology in modern times.
+
+As we begin the twentieth century, the most interesting question in
+biology is undoubtedly that of heredity. Just at the dawn of the
+century three distinguished scientists, working in different
+countries, rediscovered a law with regard to heredity which promises
+to be even more important for the science of biology in the twentieth
+century than was Lamarck's work for the nineteenth century. This law,
+which, it is thought, will do more to simplify the problems of
+heredity than all the observations and theories of nineteenth-century
+workers, and which has already done much more to point out the methods
+by which observation, and the lines along which experimentation shall
+be best directed so as to replace elaborate but untrustworthy
+scientific theorizing by definite knowledge, was discovered by a
+member of a small religious community in the little-known town of
+Bruenn, in Austria, some thirty-five years before the beginning of the
+present century.
+
+Considering how generally, in English-speaking countries at least, it
+is supposed that the training of a clergyman and particularly that of
+a religious unfits him for any such initiative in science, Father
+Mendel's discovery comes with all the more emphatic surprise. There is
+no doubt, however, in the minds of many of the most prominent
+present-day workers in biology that his {197} discoveries are of a
+ground-breaking character that will furnish substantial foundation for
+a new development of scientific knowledge with regard to heredity.
+
+Lest it should be thought that perhaps there is a tendency to make
+Father Mendel's discovery appear more important here than it really
+is, because of his station in life, it seems desirable to quote some
+recent authoritative expressions of opinion with regard to the value
+of his observations and the importance of the law he enunciated, as
+well as the principle which he considered to be the explanation of
+that law.
+
+In the February number of _Harper's Monthly_ for 1903, Professor
+Thomas Hunt Morgan, Professor of Biology at Bryn Mawr, and one of the
+best known of our American biologists, whose recent work on
+"Regeneration" has attracted favorable notice all over the world,
+calls attention to the revolutionary character of Mendel's discovery.
+He considers that recent demonstrations of the mathematical truth of
+Mendel's Law absolutely confirm Mendel's original observations, and
+the movement thus initiated, in Professor Morgan's eyes, gives the
+final _coup de grace_ to the theory of natural selection. "If," he
+says, "we reject Darwin's theory of natural selection as an
+explanation of evolution, we have at least a new and promising outlook
+in another direction and are in a position to answer the oft-heard but
+unscientific query of those who must cling to some dogma: if you
+reject Darwin, what better have you to offer?"
+
+{198}
+
+Professor Edmund B. Wilson, the Director of the Zoological Laboratory
+of Columbia University, called attention in _Science_ (19 December,
+1902) to the fact that studies in cytology, that is to say,
+observations on the formation, development, and maturation of cells,
+confirm Mendel's principles of inheritance and thus furnish another
+proof of the truth of these principles.
+
+Two students working in Professor Wilson's laboratory have obtained
+definite evidence in favor of the cytological explanation of Mendel's
+principles, and have thus made an important step in the solution of
+one of the important fundamental mysteries of cell development in the
+very early life of organisms.
+
+In a paper read before the American Academy of Arts and Sciences last
+year, Professor W. E. Castle, of Harvard University, said with regard
+to Mendel's Law of Heredity:--
+
+  What will doubtless rank as one of the greatest discoveries in the
+  study of biology, and in the study of heredity, perhaps the
+  greatest, was made by Gregor Mendel, an Austrian monk, in the garden
+  of his cloister, some forty years ago. The discovery was announced
+  in the proceedings of a fairly well-known scientific society, but
+  seems to have attracted little attention, and to have been soon
+  forgotten. The Darwinian theory then occupied the centre of the
+  scientific stage, and Mendel's brilliant discovery was all but
+  unnoticed for a third of a century. Meanwhile, the discussion
+  aroused by Weissman's germ plasm theory, in particular the idea of
+  the non-inheritance of acquired characters, put the scientific
+  public into a more receptive frame of mind. Mendel's law was
+  rediscovered {199} independently by three different botanists,
+  engaged in the study of plant hybrids--de Vries, Correns, and
+  Tschermak, in the year 1900. It remained, however, for a zoologist,
+  Bateson, two years later, to point out the full importance and the
+  wide applicability of the law. Since then the Mendelian discoveries
+  have attracted the attention of biologists generally.
+  [Footnote 15]
+
+    [Footnote 15: This paper was originally published in part in the
+    _Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences_, Vol.
+    xxxviii, No. 18, January, 1903. It may be found complete in
+    _Science_ for 25 September, 1903.]
+
+
+Professor Bateson, whose book on Mendel's "Principles of Heredity" is
+the best popular exposition in English of Mendel's work, says that an
+exact determination of the laws of heredity will probably produce more
+change in man's outlook upon the world and in his power over nature
+than any other advance in natural knowledge that can be clearly
+foreseen. No one has better opportunities of pursuing such work than
+horticulturists and stockbreeders. They are daily witnesses of the
+phenomena of heredity. Their success also depends largely on a
+knowledge of its laws, and obviously every increase in that knowledge
+is of direct and special importance to them.
+
+After thus insisting on the theoretic and practical importance of the
+subject, Professor Bateson says:--
+
+  As regards the Mendelian principles which it is the chief aim of
+  this introduction to present clearly before the reader, it may be
+  said that by the {200} application of those principles we are
+  enabled to reach and deal in a comprehensive manner with phenomena
+  of a fundamental nature, lying at the very root of all conceptions
+  not merely of the physiology of reproduction and heredity, but even
+  of the essential nature of living organisms; and I think that I use
+  no extravagant words when, in introducing Mendel's work to the
+  notice of the Royal Horticultural Society's Journal, I ventured to
+  declare that his experiments are worthy to rank with those which
+  laid the foundation of the atomic laws of chemistry.
+
+Professor L. H. Bailey, who is the Director of the Horticultural
+Department at Cornell University and the editor of the authoritative
+_Encyclopedia of Horticulture_, was one of the first of recent
+scientists to call attention to Mendel's work. It was, we believe,
+because of a reference to Mendel's papers by Bailey that Professor de
+Vries was put on the track of Mendel's discoveries and found that the
+Austrian monk had completely anticipated the work at which he was then
+engaged. In a recent issue of _The Independent_, of New York,
+Professor Bailey said:--
+
+  The teaching of Mendel strikes at the root of two or three difficult
+  and vital problems. It presents a new conception of the proximate
+  mechanism of heredity. The hypothesis of heredity that it suggests
+  will focus our attention along new lines, and will, I believe,
+  arouse as much discussion as Weissmann's hypothesis, and it is
+  probable that it will have a wider influence. Whether it expresses
+  the actual means of heredity or not, it is yet much too early to
+  say. But the hypothesis (which Father Mendel evolved in order to
+  explain the reasons for his law as he saw them) is even a {201}
+  greater contribution to science than the so-called Mendel's Law as
+  to the numerical results of hybridization. In the general discussion
+  of evolution Mendel's work will be of the greatest value because it
+  introduces a new point of view, challenges old ideas and opinions,
+  gives us a new theory for discussion, emphasizes the great
+  importance of actual experiments for the solution of many questions
+  of evolution, and then forces the necessity for giving greater
+  attention to the real characters and attributes of plants and
+  animals than to the vague groups that we are in the habit of calling
+  species.
+
+It is very evident that a man of whose work so many authorities are
+agreed that it is the beginning of a new era in biology, and
+especially in that most interesting of all questions, heredity, must
+be worthy of close acquaintance. Hence the present sketch of his
+career and personality, as far as they are ascertainable, for his
+modesty, and the failure of the world to recognize his worth in his
+lifetime, have unfortunately deprived us of many details that would
+have been precious.
+
+Gregor Johann Mendel was born 27 July, 1822, at Heinzendorf, nor far
+from Odrau, in Austrian Silesia. He was the son of a well-to-do
+peasant farmer, who gave him every opportunity of getting a good
+education when he was young. He was educated at Olmutz, in Moravia,
+and after graduating from the college there, at the age of twenty-one,
+he entered as a novice the Augustinian Order, beginning his novitiate
+in 1843 in the Augustinian monastery Koenigen-kloster, in Altbruenn. He
+was very successful in {202} his theological studies, and in 1846 he
+was ordained priest. He seems to have made a striking success as a
+teacher, especially of natural history and physics, in the higher
+Realschule in Bruenn. He attracted the attention of his superiors, who
+were persuaded to give him additional opportunities for the study of
+the sciences, particularly of biological science, for which he had a
+distinct liking and special talents.
+
+Accordingly, in 1851 he went to Vienna for the purpose of doing
+post-graduate work in the natural sciences at the university there.
+During the two years he spent at this institution he attracted
+attention by his serious application to study, but apparently without
+having given any special evidence of the talent for original
+observation that was in him. In 1853 he returned to the monastery in
+Altbruenn, and at the beginning of the school year became a teacher at
+the Realschule in Bruenn. He remained in Bruenn for the rest of his
+life, dying at the comparatively early age of sixty-two, in 1884.
+During the last sixteen years of his life he held the position of
+abbot of the monastery, the duties of which prevented him from
+applying himself as he probably would have desired, to the further
+investigation of scientific questions.
+
+The experiments on which his great discoveries were founded were
+carried out in the garden of the monastery during the sixteen years
+from 1853 to 1868. How serious was his scientific devotion may be
+gathered from the fact that in {203} establishing the law which now
+bears his name, and which was founded on observations on peas, some
+10,000 plants were carefully examined, their various peculiarities
+noted, their ancestry carefully traced, the seeds kept in definite
+order and entirely separate, so as to be used for the study of certain
+qualities in their descendants, and the whole scheme of
+experimentation planned with such detail that for the first time in
+the history of studies in heredity, no extraneous and inexplicable
+data were allowed to enter the problem. Besides his work on plants,
+Mendel occupied himself with other observations of a scientific
+character on two subjects which were at that time attracting
+considerable attention. These were the state and condition of the
+ground-water--a subject which was thought to stand at the basis of
+hygienic principles at the time and which had occupied the attention
+of the distinguished Professor Pettenkofer and the Munich School of
+Hygiene for many years--and weather observations. At that time
+Pettenkofer, the most widely known of sanitary scientists, thought
+that he was able to show that the curve of frequency of typhoid fever
+in the different seasons of the year depended upon the closeness with
+which the ground-water came to the surface. Authorities in hygiene
+generally do not now accept this supposed law, for other factors have
+been found which are so much more important that, if the ground-water
+has any influence, it can be neglected. Mendel's observations in the
+matter {204} were, however, in line with the scientific ideas of the
+time and undoubtedly must be considered of value.
+
+The other subject in which Mendel interested himself was meteorology.
+He published in the journal of the Bruenn Society of Naturalists a
+series of statistical observations with regard to the weather. Besides
+this he organized in connexion with the Realschule in Bruenn a series
+of observation stations in different parts of the country around; and
+at the time when most scientists considered meteorological problems to
+be too complex for hopeful solution, Mendel seems to have realized
+that the questions involved depended rather on the collation of a
+sufficient number of observations and the deduction of definite laws
+from them than on any theoretic principles of a supposed science of
+the weather.
+
+The man evidently had a genius for scientific observations. His
+personal character was of the highest. The fact that his fellow-monks
+selected him as abbot of the monastery shows the consideration in
+which he was held for tact and true religious feeling. There are many
+still alive in Bruenn who remember him well and cannot say enough of
+his kindly disposition, the _froeliche Liebenswuerdigkeit_ (which means
+even more than our personal magnetism), that won for him respect and
+reverence from all. He is remembered, not only for his successful
+discoveries, and not alone by his friends and the fellow-members of
+the Naturalist Society, but by practically all his {205}
+contemporaries in the town; and it is his lovable personal character
+that seems to have most impressed itself on them.
+
+He was for a time the president of the Bruenn Society of Naturalists,
+while also abbot of the monastery. This is, perhaps, a combination
+that would strike English-speaking people as rather curious, but seems
+to have been considered not out of the regular course of events in
+Austria.
+
+Father Mendel's introduction to his paper on plant hybridization,
+which describes the result of the experiments made by him in deducing
+the law which he announces, is a model of simple straightforwardness.
+It breathes the spirit of the loftiest science in its clear-eyed
+vision of the nature of the problem he had to solve, the factors which
+make up the problem, and the experimental observations necessary to
+elucidate it. We reproduce the introductory remarks here from the
+translations made of them by the Royal Horticultural Society of
+England. [Footnote 16] Father Mendel said at the beginning of his
+paper as read 8 February, 1865:--
+
+    [Footnote 16: The original paper was published in the
+    "Verhandlungen des Naturforscher-Vereins," in Bruenn, Abhandlungen,
+    iv, that is, the proceedings of the year 1865, which were
+    published in 1866. Copies of these transactions were exchanged
+    with all the important scientific journals, especially those in
+    connexion with important societies and universities throughout
+    Europe, and the wonder is that this paper attracted so little
+    attention.]
+
+  Experience of artificial fertilization such as is affected with
+  ornamental plants in order to obtain new variations in color, has
+  led to the experiments, the {206} details of which I am about to
+  discuss. The striking regularity with which the same hybrid forms
+  always reappeared whenever fertilization took place between the same
+  species, induced further experiments to be undertaken, the object of
+  which was to follow up the developments of the hybrid in a number of
+  successive generations of their progeny.
+
+  Those who survey the work that has been done in this department up
+  to the present time will arrive at the conviction that among all the
+  numerous experiments made not one has been carried out to such an
+  extent and in such a way as to make it possible to determine the
+  number of different forms under which the offspring of hybrids
+  appear, or to arrange these forms with certainty, according to their
+  separate generations, or to ascertain definitely their statistical
+  relations.
+
+These three primary necessities for the solution of the problem of
+heredity--namely, first, the number of different forms under which the
+offspring of hybrids appear; secondly, the arrangement of these forms,
+with definiteness and certainty, as regards their relations in the
+separate generation; and thirdly, the statistical results of the
+hybridization of the plants in successive generations, are the secret
+of the success of Mendel's work, as has been very well said by
+Bateson, in commenting on this paragraph in his work on Mendel's
+"Principles of Heredity." This was the first time that any one had
+ever realized exactly the nature of the problems presented in, their
+naked simplicity. "To see a problem well is more than half to solve
+it," and this proved to be the case with Mendel's straightforward
+vision of the nature of the experiments required for advance in our
+knowledge of heredity.
+
+{207}
+
+While Mendel was beginning his experiments almost absolutely under the
+guidance of his own scientific spirit, and undertaking his series of
+observations in the monastery garden without any reference to other
+work in this line, he knew very well what distinguished botanists were
+doing in this line and was by no means presumptuously following a
+study of the deepest of nature's problems without knowing what others
+had accomplished in the matter in recent years. In the second
+paragraph of his introduction he quotes the men whose work in this
+science was attracting attention, and says that to this object
+numerous careful observers, such a Koelreuter, Gaertner, Herbert, Lecoq,
+Wichura and others, had devoted a part of their lives with
+inexhaustible perseverance.
+
+To quote Mendel's own words:--
+
+  Gaertner, especially in his work, "Die Bastarderzeugung im
+  Pflanzenreiche," [Footnote 17] has recorded very valuable
+  observations; and quite recently Wichura published the results of
+  some profound observations on the hybrids of the willow. That so far
+  no generally applicable law governing the formation and development
+  of hybrids has been successfully formulated can hardly be wondered
+  at by anyone who is acquainted with the extent of the task and can
+  appreciate the difficulties with which experiments of this class
+  have to contend. A final decision can only be arrived at when we
+  shall have before us the results of the changed detailed experiments
+  made on plants belonging to the most diverse orders. It requires
+  some courage indeed to undertake a labor of such far-reaching
+  extent; it appears, however, to be the only right way by which we
+  can finally reach the solution of a question the importance of which
+  can not be overestimated in connexion with the history of the
+  evolution of organic forms.
+
+  The paper now presented records the results of such a detailed
+  experiment. This experiment was practically confined to a small
+  plant group, and is now after eight years' pursuit concluded in all
+  essentials. Whether the plan upon which the separate experiments
+  were conducted and carried out was the best suited to attain the
+  desired end is left to the friendly decision of the reader.
+
+    [Footnote 17: The Production of Hybrids in the Vegetable Kingdom.]
+
+{208}
+
+
+Mendel's discoveries with regard to peas and the influence of heredity
+on them, were founded on very simple, but very interesting,
+observations. He found that if peas of different colors were taken,
+that is to say, if, for instance, yellow-colored peas were crossed
+with green, the resulting pea seeds were, in the great majority of
+cases, of yellow color. If the yellow-colored peas obtained from such
+crossing were planted and allowed to be fertilized only by pollen from
+plants raised from similar seeds, the succeeding generation, however,
+did not give all yellow peas, but a definite number of yellow and a
+definite number of green. In other words, while there might have been
+expected a permanence of the yellow color, there was really a
+reversion in a number of the plants apparently to the type of the
+grandparent. Mendel tried the same experiment with seeds of different
+shape. Certain peas are rounded and certain others are wrinkled. When
+these were crossed, the next generation {209} consisted of wrinkled
+peas, but the next succeeding generation presented a definite number
+of round peas besides the wrinkled ones, and so on as before. He next
+bred peas with regard to other single qualities, such as the color of
+the seed coat, the inflation or constriction of the pod, as to the
+coloring of the pod, as to the distribution of the flowers along the
+stem, as to the length of the stem, finding always, no matter what the
+quality tested, the laws of heredity he had formulated always held
+true.
+
+What he thus discovered he formulated somewhat as follows: In the case
+of each of the crosses the hybrid character, that is, the quality of
+the resultant seed, resembles one of the parental forms so closely
+that the other escapes observation completely or cannot be detected
+with certainty. This quality thus impressed on the next generation,
+Mendel called the dominant quality. As, however, the reversion of a
+definite proportion of the peas in the third generation to that
+quality of the original parent which did not appear in the second
+generation was found to occur, thus showing that, though it cannot be
+detected, it is present, Mendel called it the recessive quality. He
+did not find transitional forms in any of his experiments, but
+constantly observed that when plants were bred with regard to two
+special qualities, one of those qualities became dominant in the
+resultant hybrid, and the other became recessive, that is, present
+though latent and ready to produce its effects upon a definite
+proportion of the succeeding generation.
+
+{210}
+
+Remembering, then, that Mendel means by hybrid the result of the
+crossing of two distinct species, his significant discovery has been
+stated thus: The hybrid, whatever its own character, produces ripe
+germ cells, which bear only the pure character of one parent or the
+other. Thus, when one parent has the character "A," in peas, for
+example, a green color, and the other the character "B," in peas once
+more a yellow color, the hybrid will have in cases of simple dominance
+the character "AB" or "BA," but with the second quality in either case
+not noticeable. Whatever the character of the hybrid may be, that is
+to say, to revert to the example of the peas, whether it be green or
+yellow, its germ cells when mature will bear either the character "A"
+(green), or the character "B" (yellow), but not both.
+
+As Professor Castle says: "This perfectly simple principle is known as
+the law of segregation, or the law of the purity of the germ cells. It
+bids fair to prove as fundamental to a right understanding of the
+facts of heredity as is the law of definite proportions in chemistry.
+From it follow many important consequences."
+
+To follow this acute observer's work still further by letting the
+crossbreds fertilize themselves, Mendel raised a third generation. In
+this generation were individuals which showed the dominant character
+and also individuals which presented the recessive character. Such an
+observation had of course been made in a good many instances before.
+
+{211}
+
+But Mendel noted--and this is the essence of the new discovery in his
+observations--that in this third generation the numerical proportion
+of dominants to recessives is in the average of a series of cases
+approximately constant--being, in fact, as three to one. With almost
+absolute regularity this proportion was maintained in every case of
+crossing of pairs of characters, quite opposed to one another, in his
+pea plants. In the first generation, raised from his crossbreds, or,
+as he calls them, hybrids, there were seventy-five per cent dominants
+and twenty-five per cent recessives.
+
+When these plants were again self-fertilized and the offspring of each
+plant separately sown, a new surprise awaited the observer. The
+progeny of the recessives remained pure recessive; and in any number
+of subsequent generations never produced the dominant type again, that
+is, never reverted to the original parent, whose qualities had failed
+to appear in the second generation. When the seeds obtained by
+self-fertilizing the plants with the dominant characteristics were
+sown, it was found by the test of progeny that the dominants were not
+all of like nature, but consisted of two classes--first, some which
+gave rise to pure dominants; and secondly, others which gave a mixed
+offspring, composed partly of recessives, partly of dominants. Once
+more, however, the ratio of heredity asserted itself and it was found
+that the average numerical proportions were constant--those with pure
+dominant {212} offspring being to those with mixed offspring as one to
+two. Hence, it was seen that the seventy-five per cent of dominants
+are not really of identical constitution, but consist of twenty-five
+per cent which are pure dominants and fifty per cent which are really
+crossbreds, though like most of the crossbreds raised by crossing the
+two original varieties, they exhibit the dominant character only.
+
+These fifty crossbreds have mixed offspring; these offspring again in
+their numerical proportion follow the same law, namely, three
+dominants to one recessive. The recessives are pure like those of the
+last generation, but the dominants can, by further self-fertilization
+and cultivation of the seeds produced, be again shown to be made up of
+pure dominant and crossbreds in the same proportion of one dominant to
+two crossbreds.
+
+The process of breaking up into the parent forms is thus continued in
+each successive generation, the same numerical laws being followed so
+far as observation has gone. As Mendel's observations have now been
+confirmed by workers in many parts of the world, investigating many
+different kinds of plants, it would seem that this law which he
+discovered has a basis in the nature of things and is to furnish the
+foundation for a new and scientific theory of heredity, while at the
+same time affording scope for the collection of observations of the
+most valuable character with a definite purpose and without any
+theoretic bias.
+
+{213}
+
+The task of the practical breeder who seeks to establish or fix a new
+variety produced by cross-breeding in a case involving two variable
+characters is simply the isolation and propagation of that one in each
+sixteen of the second generation offspring which will be pure as
+regards the desired combination of characters. Mendel's discovery, by
+putting the breeder in possession of this information enables him to
+attack this problem systematically with confidence in the outcome,
+whereas hitherto his work, important and fascinating as it is, has
+consisted largely of groping for a treasure in the dark. The greater
+the number of separately variable characters involved in a cross, the
+greater will be the number of new combinations obtainable; the greater
+too will be the number of individuals which it will be necessary to
+raise in order to secure all the possible combinations; and the
+greater again will be the difficulty of isolating the pure, that is,
+the stable forms in such as are similar to them in appearance, but
+still hybrid in one or more characters.
+
+The law of Mendel reduces to an exact science the art of breeding in
+the case most carefully studied by him, that of entire dominance. It
+gives to the breeder a new conception of "purity." No animal or plant
+is "pure," simply because it is descended from a long line of
+ancestors, possessing a desired combination of characters; but any
+animal or plant is pure if it produces _gametes_--that is, particles
+for conjugation of only one sort--even though its grandparents may
+among {214} themselves have possessed opposite characters. The
+existence of purity can be established with certainty only by suitable
+breeding tests, especially by crossing with recessives; but it may be
+safely assumed for any animal or plant, descended from parents which
+were like each other and had been shown by breeding tests to be pure.
+
+This naturally leads us to what some biologists have considered to be
+the most important part of his work--the theory which he elaborated to
+explain his results, the principle which he considers to be the basis
+of the laws he discovered. Mendel suggests as following logically from
+the results of his experiments and observations a certain theory of
+the constitution of germinal particles. He has put this important
+matter so clearly himself and with such little waste of words that it
+seems better to quote the translation of the passage as given by
+Professor Bateson, [Footnote 18] than to attempt to explain it in
+other words. Mendel says:--
+
+    [Footnote 18: Bateson: _Mendel's Principles of Heredity_.
+    Cambridge. The University Press. 1902.]
+
+  The results of the previously described experiments induced further
+  experiments, the results of which appear fitted to afford some
+  conclusions as regards the composition of the egg and pollen-cells
+  of hybrids. An important matter for consideration is afforded in
+  peas (_pisum_) by the circumstance that among the progeny of the
+  hybrids constant forms appear, and that this occurs, too, in all
+  combinations of the associated characters. So far as experience
+  goes, we find it in every {215} case confirmed that constant progeny
+  can only be formed when the egg-cells and the fertilizing pollen are
+  of like character, so that both are provided with the material for
+  creating quite similar individuals, as is the case with the normal
+  fertilization of pure species.
+
+  We must therefore regard it as essential that exactly similar
+  factors are at work also in the production of the constant forms in
+  the hybrid plants. Since the various constant forms are produced in
+  one plant, or even in one flower of a plant, the conclusion appears
+  logical that in the ovaries of the hybrids there are formed as many
+  sorts of egg-cells and in the anthers as many sorts of pollen-cells
+  as there are possible constant combination forms, and that these egg
+  and pollen-cells agree in their internal composition with those of
+  the separate forms.
+
+  In point of fact, it is possible to demonstrate theoretically that
+  this hypothesis would fully suffice to account for the development
+  of the hybrids in the separate generations, if we might at the same
+  time assume that the various kinds of egg and pollen-cells were
+  formed in the hybrids on the average in equal numbers.
+
+Bateson says in a note on this passage that this last and the
+preceding paragraph contain the essence of the Mendelian principles of
+heredity. Mendel himself, after stating this hypothesis, gives the
+details of a series of experiments by which he was able to decide that
+the theoretic considerations suggested were founded in the nature of
+plants and their germinal cells.
+
+It will, of course, be interesting to realize what the bearing of
+Mendel's discoveries is on the question of the stability of species as
+well as on the origin of species. Professor Morgan, in his {216}
+article on Darwinism in the "Light of Modern Criticism," already
+quoted, says the important fact (with regard to Mendel's Law) from the
+point of view of the theory of evolution is that "the new species have
+sprung fully armed from the old ones, like Minerva from the head of
+Jove." "From de Vries's results," he adds, "we understand better how
+it is that we do not see new forms arising, because they appear, as it
+were, fully equipped over night. Old species are not slowly changed
+into new ones, but a shaking up of the old organization takes place
+and the egg brings forth a new species. It is like the turning of the
+kaleidoscope, a slight shift and the new figure suddenly appears. It
+needs no great penetration to see that this point of view is entirely
+different from the conception of the formation of new species by
+accumulating individual variations, until they are carried so far that
+the new form may be called a new species."
+
+With regard to this question of the transformation of one species into
+another, Mendel himself, in the concluding paragraphs of his article
+on hybridization, seems to agree with the expressions of Morgan. He
+quotes Gaertner's opinion with apparent approval: "Gaertner, by the
+results of these transformation experiments was led to oppose the
+opinion of those naturalists who dispute the stability of plant
+species and believe in a continuous evolution of vegetation. He
+perceives in the complete transformation of one species into another
+an indubitable proof that {217} species are fixed within limits beyond
+which they cannot change." "Although this opinion," adds Mendel,
+"cannot be unconditionally accepted, we find, on the other hand, in
+Gaertner's experiments a noteworthy confirmation of that supposition
+regarding the variability of cultivated plants which has already been
+expressed." This expression of opinion is not very definite, and
+Bateson, in what Professor Wilson of Columbia calls his "recent
+admirable little book on Mendel's principles," adds the following note
+that may prove of service in elucidating Mendel's meaning, as few men
+have entered so fully into the understanding of Mendel's work as
+Bateson, who introduced him to the English-speaking scientific public,
+"The argument of this paragraph appears to be that though the general
+mutability of natural species might be doubtful, yet among cultivated
+plants the transference of characters may be accomplished and may
+occur by _integral steps_ [italics ours], until one species is
+definitely 'transformed' into the other."
+
+Needless to say, this is quite different from the gradual
+transformation of species that Darwinism or Lamarckism assumes to take
+place. One species becomes another _per saltum_ in virtue of some
+special energy infused into it, some original tendency of its
+intrinsic nature, not because of gradual modification by forces
+outside of the organisms, nor because of the combination of influences
+they are subjected to from without and within, because of tendency to
+evolute plus {218} environmental forces. This throws biology back to
+the permanency of species in themselves, though successive generations
+may be of different species, and does away with the idea of missing
+links, since there are no gradual connecting gradations.
+
+A very interesting phase of Mendel's discoveries is concerned with the
+relative value of the egg-cell and the pollen-cell, as regards their
+effect upon future generations. It is an old and oft-discussed problem
+as to which of these germinal particles is the more important in its
+influence upon the transmission of parental qualities. Mendel's
+observations would seem to decide definitely that, in plants and, by
+implication, in animals, since the germinal process is biogenetically
+similar, the value of both germinal particles is exactly equal.
+
+In a note, Mendel says:--
+
+  _In pisum_ (i. e. in peas), it is beyond doubt that, for the
+  formation of the new embryo, a perfect union of the elements of both
+  fertilizing cells must take place. How could we otherwise explain
+  that, among the offspring of the hybrids, both original types
+  reappear in equal numbers, and with all their peculiarities? If the
+  influence of the egg-cell upon the pollen-cell were only external,
+  if it fulfilled the role of a nurse only, then the result of each
+  artificial fertilization could be no other than that the developed
+  hybrid should exactly resemble the pollen parent, or, at any rate,
+  do so very closely. These experiments, so far, have in no wise been
+  confirmed. An evident proof of the complete union of the contents of
+  both cells is afforded by the {219} experience gained on all sides,
+  that it is immaterial as regards the form of the hybrid which of the
+  original species is the seed cell, or which the pollen parent!
+
+This is the first actual demonstration of the equivalent value of both
+germinal particles as regards their influence on transmission
+inheritance in future generations.
+
+It is only by simplifying the problem so that all disturbing factors
+could be eliminated that Mendel succeeded in making this
+demonstration. Too many qualities have hitherto been considered with
+consequent confusion as to the results obtained.
+
+It is of the genius of the man that he should have been able to
+succeed in seeing the problem in simple terms while it is apparently
+so complex, and thus obtain results that are as far-reaching as the
+problem they solve is basic in its character.
+
+Bateson, in his work Mendel's _Principles of Heredity_, says:--
+
+  It may seem surprising that a work of such importance should so long
+  have failed to find recognition and to become current in the world
+  of science. It is true that the Journal in which it appeared is
+  scarce, but this circumstance has seldom long delayed general
+  recognition. The cause is unquestionably to be found in that neglect
+  of the experimental study of the problem of species which supervened
+  on the general acceptance of the Darwinian doctrine. The problem of
+  species, as Koelreuter, Gaertner, Naudin, Wichura, and the hybridists
+  of the middle of the nineteenth century conceived it, attracted
+  thenceforth no workers.
+
+{220}
+
+  The question, it was imagined, had been answered and the debate
+  ended. No one felt much interest in the matter. A host of other
+  lines of work was suddenly opened up, and in 1865 the more original
+  investigators naturally found these new methods of research more
+  attractive than the tedious observations of hybridizers, whose
+  inquiries were supposed, moreover, to have led to no definite
+  results.
+
+  In 1868 appeared the first edition of Darwin's _Animals and Plants_,
+  marking the very zenith of these studies with regard to hybrids and
+  the questions in heredity which they illustrate, and thenceforth the
+  decline in the experimental investigation of evolution and the
+  problem of species have been studied. With the rediscovery and
+  confirmation of Mendel's work by de Vries, Correns and Tschermak in
+  1900 a new era begins. Had Mendel's work come into the hands of
+  Darwin it is not too much to say that the history of the development
+  of evolutionary philosophy would have been very different from that
+  which we have witnessed.
+
+  That Mendel's work, appearing as it did at a moment when several
+  naturalists of the first rank were still occupied with these
+  problems, should have passed wholly unnoted, will always remain
+  inexplicable, the more so as the Bruenn society exchanged its
+  publication with most of the great academies of Europe, including
+  both the Royal and the Linnean societies of London.
+
+The whole history of Mendel's work, its long period without effect
+upon scientific thought, its thoroughly simple yet satisfactory
+character, its basis in manifold observations of problems simplified
+to the last degree, and its present complete acceptance illustrate
+very well the chief defect of the last two generations of workers in
+biology. {221} There has been entirely too much theorizing, too much
+effort at observations for the purpose of bolstering up preconceived
+ideas--preaccepted dogmas of science that have proved false in the
+end--and too little straightforward observation and simple reporting
+of the facts without trying to have them fit into any theory
+prematurely, that is until their true place was found. This will be
+the criterion by which the latter half of nineteenth century biology
+will be judged; and because of failure here much of our supposed
+progress will have no effect on the current of biological progress,
+but will represent only an eddy in which there was no end of bustling
+movement manifest but no real advance.
+
+As stated very clearly by Professor Morgan at the beginning of this
+paper, and Professor Bateson near the end, Darwin's doctrine of
+natural selection as the main factor in evolution and its practically
+universal premature acceptance by scientific workers in biology are
+undoubtedly responsible for this. The present generation may well be
+warned, then, not to surrender their judgment to taking theories, but
+to wait in patience for the facts in the case, working, not
+theorizing, while they wait.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Catholic Churchmen in Science, by James J. Walsh
+
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