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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.— SUPPLEMENT. 



1874). The most recent general work proceed- 

 ing from the Tubingen school is Hilgenfeld's 

 " Historisch-kritische Einleitung in das Neue Tes- 

 tament " (Leipsic, 1875). On the canon there 

 are several important works by Credner in Ger- 

 man, and an English " History of the Canon of 

 the New Testament," by Dr. Westcott (fourth 

 edition, 1875). On the text of the New Testa- 

 ment the English reader may consult Tregelles's 

 volume, contributed to Home's " Introduction " 

 (1856), and Scrivener's " Plain Introduction to 



the Criticism of the New Testament " (second 

 edition, 1874). Le Long's "Bibliotheca Sacra," 

 continued by Masch (Halle, 1778-'90), gives a 

 full account of editions of the original text and 

 versions, which may.be supplemented by refer- 

 ence to De Rossi's " Annales Hebraco-typogra- 

 phici " (XV. Cent, Parma, 1795 ; MDI. to MDXL., 

 Parma, 1799), and Reuss's "Bibliotheca Novi 

 Testamenti Graeci " (Brunswick, 1872). De- 

 tailed references to other recent books will be 

 found in the works already cited. 



COPERNICUS m ITALY.- 



THE celebration at Thorn, in 1873, of the 

 four hundredth anniversary of the birth of 

 Copernicus, was the occasion to which both the 

 works before us owed their origin. Thus they 

 belong to the large and increasing class which 

 may be described as centenary literature. This 

 category, indeed, includes many degrees of merit. 

 The publication of Signor Schiaparelli, well known 

 as the director of the Brera Observatory at Milan, 

 although slight in form, is admirable of its kind 

 — clear, exhaustive, and unbiased by precon- 

 ceived opinions. That of Signor Berti, which has 

 recently received considerable additions, is infe- 

 rior in literary quality, but deserves praise for its 

 painstaking accuracy of detail, and careful con- 

 sultation of authorities. The purpose of the pres- 

 ent article is not to sketch a biography of the 

 great Polish astronomer, nor to put forward a 

 theory as to the genesis of his system, but to 

 point out some of the influences which he must 

 have encountered on coming to Italy — then the 

 intellectual hot-bed of Europe — and to trace a few 

 among the innumerable currents of thought which 

 must have modified the development of his ideas 

 during his residence at Italian universities. 



Nicholas Copernicus was born on February 

 19, 1473, at Thorn, then part of the dominions 

 of Casimir IV. King of Poland. Some controver- 

 sy as to his nationality has been caused by the 

 inconsistent terms in which contemporary writers 

 mention him ; some speaking of him as a Prus- 

 sian, others as a Pole. The truth seems to be 



1 "Copernico e le vicende del Sistoma Copernicano in 

 Italia nella scconda meta del secolo XVI e nella prima del 

 XVII.'" Del Professore Domenico Berti. Roma, 1876. 



" I Precui-sori del Copernico nell' Antichita. Ricerclie 

 Storiche." Di G. V. Schiaparelli. Milano, 1873. 



that he was of mixed descent. His father was 

 apparently a Slav by race, as he was certainly a 

 Bohemian by country ; his mother, Barbara Was- 

 selrode, was an undoubted German. Although 

 early destined for an ecclesiastical career, the 

 native promptings of the genius of Copernicus 

 urged him toward astronomical studies, and we 

 find him at the University of Cracow, where he 

 resided from 1491 to 1495, collecting from the 

 teachings of Albert Brudzewski all that was to 

 be known of the system then in vogue. Through 

 the influence of his uncle, Lucas Wasselrode, 

 Bishop of Ermland, he was, at the early age of 

 twenty-two, raised to the dignity of Canon of 

 Frauenburg, and having completed the obligatory 

 year of residence, he obtained from the chapter 

 three years' leave of absence for the purpose of 

 completing in Italy the course of study begun in 

 his native country. Italy was then the best 

 school for mathematics, and practically the only 

 one for Greek ; and Copernicus coveted the mas- 

 tery of both as necessary instruments for perfect- 

 ing himself in the science of his choice. Thus, 

 toward the end of 1496, he was enrolled among 

 the students at the University of Bologna, and 

 early in the following year the Ferrarese astrono- 

 mer, Domenico Maria Novara, had already found 

 in him a zealous assistant in his nightly observa- 

 tions. 



Bologna at that lime flourished under the 

 outwardly beneficent tyranny of Giovanni Benti 

 voglio II. The tumults of communal factions 

 and the turbulence of university riots had been 

 alike quelled; the French cyclone had swept by 

 on the other side of the Apennines ; letters were 

 fostered, the arts flourished, wealth increased. 

 Whether these benefits were worth the price paid 



