Ill 



THE REVIVAL OF LEARNING 



DURING the Middle Ages the beliefs about physiology 

 were always based on Galen. They were frequently 

 confused and often the result of a misunderstanding 

 of his work. In the fifteenth century, however, took 

 place the so-called Renaissance or Revival of Learning. 

 Greek works began to be recovered and to be more 

 accurately studied. The first step towards any improve- 

 ment on the views of Galen was naturally a proper under- 

 standing of what he really said. For that purpose a 

 correct knowledge of Greek was needed, and such a 

 knowledge had been exceedingly rare in the Middle 

 Ages. In the fifteenth century, however, knowledge of 

 this kind became more common. It was an age of 

 enthusiasm for the Classics and of revival of classical 

 scholarship. Accurate translations of the Greek works 

 of Galen were made. The printing-press was invented 

 about the middle of the fifteenth century, and towards 

 its end printed copies of the new translations of the 

 works of Galen began to be distributed all over Europe. 

 So it came about that the Revival of Learning was coin- 

 cident with a Revival of Science. 



An indication of this scientific revival was a new 

 interest in dissecting. Even during the Middle Ages 

 there had been a certain amount of dissection in con- 

 nection with medical courses at the Universities. At 

 first this dissection was undertaken merely with the 



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