a history of science-1-第42章

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n　the　physical　sciences　we　have　seen　at　least　the　beginnings　of　great　things。　Dynamics　and　hydrostatics　may　now；　for　the　first　time；　claim　a　place　among　the　sciences。　Geometry　has　been　perfected　and　trigonometry　has　made　a　sure　beginning。　The　conception　that　there　are　four　elementary　substances；　earth；　water；　air；　and　fire；　may　not　appear　a　secure　foundation　for　chemistry；　yet　it　marks　at　least　an　attempt　in　the　right　direction。　Similarly；　the　conception　that　all　matter　is　made　up　of　indivisible　particles　and　that　these　have　adjusted　themselves　and　are　perhaps　held　in　place　by　a　whirling　motion；　while　it　is　scarcely　more　than　a　scientific　dream；　is；　after　all；　a　dream　of　marvellous　insight。　In　the　field　of　biological　science　progress　has　not　been　so　marked；　yet　the　elaborate　garnering　of　facts　regarding　anatomy；　physiology；　and　the　zoological　sciences　is　at　least　a　valuable　preparation　for　the　generalizations　of　a　later　time。　If　with　a　map　before　us　we　glance　at　the　portion　of　the　globe　which　was　known　to　the　workers　of　the　period　now　in　question；　bearing　in　mind　at　the　same　time　what　we　have　learned　as　to　the　seat　of　labors　of　the　various　great　scientific　thinkers　from　Thales　to　Galen；　we　cannot　fail　to　be　struck　with　a　rather　startling　fact；　intimations　of　which　have　been　given　from　time　to　timethe　fact；　namely；　that　most　of　the　great　Greek　thinkers　did　not　live　in　Greece　itself。　As　our　eye　falls　upon　Asia　Minor　and　its　outlying　islands；　we　reflect　that　here　were　born　such　men　as　Thales；　Anaximander；　Anaximenes；　Heraclitus；　Pythagoras；　Anaxagoras；　Socrates；　Aristarchus；　Hipparchus；　Eudoxus；　Philolaus；　and　Galen。　From　the　northern　shores　of　the　aegean　came　Lucippus；　Democritus；　and　Aristotle。　Italy；　off　to　the　west；　is　the　home　of　Pythagoras　and　Xenophanes　in　their　later　years；　and　of　Parmenides　and　Empedocles；　Zeno；　and　Archimedes。　Northern　Africa　can　claim；　by　birth　or　by　adoption；　such　names　as　Euclid；　Apollonius　of　Perga；　Herophilus；　Erasistratus；　Aristippus；　Eratosthenes；　Ctesibius；　Hero；　Strabo；　and　Ptolemy。　This　is　but　running　over　the　list　of　great　men　whose　discoveries　have　claimed　our　attention。　Were　we　to　extend　the　list　to　include　a　host　of　workers　of　the　second　rank；　we　should　but　emphasize　the　same　fact。　All　along　we　are　speaking　of　Greeks；　or；　as　they　call　themselves；　Hellenes；　and　we　mean　by　these　words　the　people　whose　home　was　a　small　jagged　peninsula　jutting　into　the　Mediterranean　at　the　southeastern　extremity　of　Europe。　We　think　of　this　peninsula　as　the　home　of　Greek　culture；　yet　of　all　the　great　thinkers　we　have　just　named；　not　one　was　born　on　this　peninsula；　and　perhaps　not　one　in　five　ever　set　foot　upon　it。　In　point　of　fact；　one　Greek　thinker　of　the　very　first　rank；　and　one　only；　was　born　in　Greece　proper；　that　one；　however；　was　Plato；　perhaps　the　greatest　of　them　all。　With　this　one　brilliant　exception　（and　even　he　was　born　of　parents　who　came　from　the　provinces）；　all　the　great　thinkers　of　Greece　had　their　origin　at　the　circumference　rather　than　the　centre　of　the　empire。　And　if　we　reflect　that　this　circumference　of　the　Greek　world　was　in　the　nature　of　the　case　the　widely　circling　region　in　which　the　Greek　came　in　contact　with　other　nations；　we　shall　see　at　once　that　there　could　be　no　more　striking　illustration　in　all　history　than　that　furnished　us　here　of　the　value　of　racial　mingling　as　a　stimulus　to　intellectual　progress。　But　there　is　one　other　feature　of　the　matter　that　must　not　be　overlooked。　Racial　mingling　gives　vitality；　but　to　produce　the　best　effect　the　mingling　must　be　that　of　races　all　of　which　are　at　a　relatively　high　plane　of　civilization。　In　Asia　Minor　the　Greek　mingled　with　the　Semite；　who　had　the　heritage　of　centuries　of　culture；　and　in　Italy　with　the　Umbrians；　Oscans；　and　Etruscans；　who；　little　as　we　know　of　their　antecedents；　have　left　us　monuments　to　testify　to　their　high　development。　The　chief　reason　why　the　racial　mingling　of　a　later　day　did　not　avail　at　once　to　give　new　life　to　Roman　thought　was　that　the　races　which　swept　down　from　the　north　were　barbarians。　It　was　no　more　possible　that　they　should　spring　to　the　heights　of　classical　culture　than　it　would；　for　example；　be　possible　in　two　or　three　generations　to　produce　a　racer　from　a　stock　of　draught　horses。　Evolution　does　not　proceed　by　such　vaults　as　this　would　imply。　Celt；　Goth；　Hun；　and　Slav　must　undergo　progressive　development　for　many　generations　before　the　population　of　northern　Europe　can　catch　step　with　the　classical　Greek　and　prepare　to　march　forward。　That；　perhaps；　is　one　reason　why　we　come　to　a　period　of　stasis　or　retrogression　when　the　time　of　classical　activity　is　over。　But；　at　best；　it　is　only　one　reason　of　several。　The　influence　of　the　barbarian　nations　will　claim　further　attention　as　we　proceed。　But　now；　for　the　moment；　we　must　turn　our　eyes　in　the　other　direction　and　give　attention　to　certain　phases　of　Greek　and　of　Oriental　thought　which　were　destined　to　play　a　most　important　part　in　the　development　of　the　Western　minda　more　important　part；　indeed；　in　the　early　mediaeval　period　than　that　played　by　those　important　inductions　of　science　which　have　chiefly　claimed　our　attention　in　recent　chapters。　The　subject　in　question　is　the　old　familiar　one　of　false　inductions　or　pseudoscience。　In　dealing　with　the　early　development　of　thought　and　with　Oriental　science；　we　had　occasion　to　emphasize　the　fact　that　such　false　inductions　led　everywhere　to　the　prevalence　of　superstition。　In　dealing　with　Greek　science；　we　have　largely　ignored　this　subject；　confining　attention　chiefly　to　the　progressive　phases　of　thought；　but　it　must　not　be　inferred　from　this　that　Greek　science；　with　all　its　secure　inductions；　was　entirely　free　from　superstition。　On　the　contrary；　the　most　casual　acquaintance　with　Greek　literature　would　suffice　to　show　the　incorrectness　of　such　a　supposition。　True；　the　great　thinkers　of　Greece　were　probably　freer　from　this　thraldom。　of　false　inductions　than　any　of　their　predecessors。　Even　at　a　very　early　day　such　men　as　Xenophanes；　Empedocles；　Anaxagoras；　and　Plato　attained　to　a　singularly　rationalistic　conception　of　the　universe。　We　saw　that　〃the　father　of　medicine；〃　Hippocrates；　banished　demonology　and　conceived　disease　as　due　to　natural　causes。　At　a　slightly　later　day　the　sophists　challenged　all　knowledge；　and　Pyrrhonism　became　a　synonym　for　scepticism　in　recognition　of　the　leadership　of　a　master　doubter。　The　entire　school　of　Alexandrians　must　have　been　relatively　free　from　superstition；　else　they　could　not　have　reasoned　with　such　effective　logicality　from　their　observations　of　nature。　It　is　almost　inconceivable　that　men　like　Euclid　and　Archimedes；　and　Aristarchus　and　Eratosthenes；　and　Hipparchus　and　Hero；　could　have　been　the　victims　of　such　illusions　regarding　occult　forces　of　nature　as　were　constantly　postulated　by　Oriental　science。　Herophilus　and　Erasistratus　and　Galen　would　hardly　have　pursued　their　anatomical　studies　with　equanimity　had　they　believed　that　ghostly　apparitions　watched　over　living　and　dead　alike；　and　exercised　at　will　a　malign　influence。　Doubtless　the　Egyptian　of　the　period　considered　the　work；　of　the　Ptolemaic　anatomists　an　unspeakable　profanation；　and；　indeed；　it　was　nothing　less　than　revolutionaryso　revolutionary　that　it　could　not　be　sustained　in　subsequent　generations。　We　have　seen　that　the　great　Galen；　at　Rome；　five　centuries　after　the　time　of　Herophilus；　was　prohibited　from　dissecting　the　human　subject。　The　fact　speaks　volumes　for　the　attitude　of　the　Roman　mind　towards　science。　Vast　audiences　made　up　of　every　stratum　of　society　thronged　the　amphitheatre；　and　watched　exultingly　while　man　slew　his　fellow…man　in　single　or　in　multiple　combat。　Shouts　of　frenzied　joy　burst　from　a　hundred　thousand　throats　when　the　death…stroke　was　given　to　a　new　victim。　The　bodies　of　the　slain；　by　scores；　even　by　hundreds；　were　dragged　ruthlessly　from　the　arena　and　hurled　into　a　ditch　as　contemptuously　as　if　pity　were　yet　unborn　and　human　life　the　merest　bauble。　Yet　the　same　eyes　that　witnessed　these　scenes　with　ecstatic　approval　would　have　been　averted　in　pious　horror　had　an　anatomist　dared　to　approach　one　of　the　mutilated　bodies　with　the　scalpel　of　science。　It　was　sport　to　see　the　blade　of　the　gladiator　enter　the　quivering；　living　flesh　of　his　fellow…gladiator；　it　was　joy　to　see　the　warm　blood　spurt　forth　from　the　writhing　victim　while　he　still　lived；　but　it　were　sacrilegious　to　approach　that　body　with　the　knife　of　the　anatomist；　once　it　had　ceased　to　pulsate　with　life。　Life　itself　was　held　utterly　in　contempt；　but　about　the　realm　of　death　hovered　the　threatening　ghosts　of　superstition。　And　such；　be　it　understood；　was　the　attitude　of　the　Roman　populace　in　the　early　and　the　most　brilliant　epoch　of　the　empire；　before　the　Western　world　came　under　the　influence　of　that　Oriental　philosophy　which　was　presently　to　encompass　it。　In　this　regard　the　Alexandrian　world　was；　as　just　intimated；　far　more　advanced　than　the　Roman；　yet　even　there　we　must　suppose　that　the　leaders　of　thought　were　widely　at　variance　with　the　popular　conceptions。　A　few　illustrations；　drawn　from　Greek　literature　at　various　ages；　will　suggest　the　popular　attitude。　In　the　first　instance；　consider　the　poems　of　Homer　and　of　Hesiod。　For　these　writers；　and　doubtless　for　the　vast　majority　of　their　readers；　not　merely　of　their　own　but　of　many　subsequent　generations；　the　world　is　peopled　with　a　multitude　of　invisible　apparitions；　which；　under　title　of　gods；　are　held　to　dominate　the　affairs　of　man。　It　is　sometimes　difficult　to　discriminate　as　to　where　the　Greek　imagination　drew　the　line　between　fact　and　allegory；　nor　need　we　attempt　to　analyse　the　early　poetic　narratives　to　this　end。　It　will　better　serve　our　present　purpose　to　cite　three　or　four　instances　which　illustrate　the　tangibility　of　beliefs　based　upon　pseudo…scientific　inductions。　Let　us　cite；　for　example；　the　account　which　Herodotus　gives　us　of　the　actions　of　the　Greeks　at　Plataea；　when　their　army　confronted　the　remnant　of　the　army　of　Xerxes；　in　the　year　479　B。C。　Here　we　see　each　side　hesitating　to　attack　the　other；　merely　because　the　oracle　had　declared　that　whichever　side　struck　the　first　blow　would　lose　the　conflict。　Even　after　the　Persian　soldiers；　who　seemingly　were　a　jot　less　superstitious　or　a　shade　more　impatient　than　their　opponents；　had　begun　the　attack；　we　are　told　that　the　Greeks　dared　not　respond　at　first；　though　they　were　falling　before　the　javelins　of　the　enemy；　because；　forsooth；　the　entrails　of　a　fowl　did　not　present　an　auspicious　appearance。　And　these　were　Greeks　of　the　same　generation　with　Empedocles　and　Anaxagoras　and　aeschylus；　of　the　same　epoch　with　Pericles　and　Sophocles　and　Euripides　and　Phidias。　Such　was　the　scientific　status　of　the　average　mindnay；　of　the　best　mindswith　here　and　there　a　rare　exception；　in　the　golden　age　of　Grecian　culture。　Were　we　to　follow　down　the　pages　of　Greek　history；　we　should　but　repeat　the　same　story　over　and　over。　We　should；　for　example；　see　Alexander　the　Great　balked　at　the　banks　of　the　Hyphasis；　and　forced　to　turn　back　because　of　inauspicious　auguries　based　as　before　upon　the　dissection　of　a　fowl。　Alexander　himself；　to　be　sure；　would　have　scorned　the　augury；　had　he　been　the　prey　of　such　petty　superstitions　he　would　never　have　conquered　Asia。　We　know　how　he　compelled　the　orac