464 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



incidents in the downfall of the mighty Stagyrite. One was the attack 

 on him by the renowned Peter Ramus, in the University of Paris. 

 Our countryman, Andrew Melville, attended Ramus's Lectures, and 

 became the means of introducing his system into Scotland. The other 

 incident is still more notable. The Reformers had to consider their 

 attitude toward Aristotle. At first their opinion was condemnatory. 

 Luther regarded him as a very devil ; he was " a godless bulwark of 

 the papists." Melanchthon was also hostile ; but he soon perceived 

 that Theology would crumble into fanatical dissolution without the 

 co-operation of some philosophy. As yet there was nothing to fall 

 back upon except the pagan systems. Of these, Melanchthon was 

 obliged to confess that Aristotle was the least objectionable, and was, 

 moreover, in possession. The plan, therefore, was to accept him as a 

 basis, and fence him round with orthodox emendations. This done, 

 Aristotle, no longer despotic, but as a limited constitutional monarch, 

 had his reign prolonged a century and a half. 



The first thing, after the Reformation in Scotland, was to purge the 

 universities of the inflexible adherents of the old faith. Then came 

 the question of amending the curriculum, not simply with a view to 

 Protestantism, but for the sake of an enlightened teaching. The right 

 man appeared at the right moment. In 1574 Andrew Melville, then 

 in Geneva, received pressing invitations to come home and take part 

 in the needed reforms. He was immediately made Principal of Glas- 

 gow University, at that time in a state of utter collapse and ruin. He 

 had matured his plans, after consultation with George Buchanan, and 

 they were worthy of a great reformer. He sketched a curriculum, 

 substantially the curriculum of the second university period. The 

 modifications upon the almost exclusive Aristotelianism of the first 

 period were significant. The Greek language was introduced, and 

 Greek classical authors read. The reading in the Roman classics was 

 extended. A text-book on rhetoric accompanied the classical readings. 

 The dialectics of Ramus made the prelude to Logic, instead of the 

 three treatises of the Old Logic. The mathematics included Euclid. 

 Geography and Cosmography were taken up. Then came a course of 

 Moral Philosophy on an enlarged basis. With the Ethics and Politics 

 of Aristotle were combined Cicero's ethical works and certain Dia- 

 logues of Plato. Finally, in the physics, Melville still used Aristotle, 

 but along with a more modern treatise. He also gave a view of uni- 

 versal history and chronology. 



This curriculum, which Melville took upon himself to teach, in 

 order to train future teachers, was the point of departure of the 

 courses in all the universities during the second period. With varia- 

 tions of time and place, the Arts' course may be described as made 

 up of the Greek and Latin classics, with rhetoric, logic, and dialectics, 

 moral philosophy or ethics, mathematics, physics, and astronomy. The 

 little text-book of rhetoric, by Talon or Talseus, was made up of notes 



