THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN SCIENCE 85 



been ascertained before the year 1700. The bacteria, the 

 protozoa, and a host of minute organisms were discovered by 

 Swammerdam (1637-1680), Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), and 

 their contemporaries. Redi, in 1668, disproved spontaneous 

 generation in macroscopic forms; but the mode of generation 

 in the microorganisms was not entirely established until the 

 nineteenth century. Malpighi (1628-1694) made known the 

 facts of microscopic anatomy. 9 



A work which illustrates the transition from medieval to 

 modern concepts in natural history is the "Puch der Na- 

 ture" by Conrad von Megenberg. Although first printed in 

 1475, this volume dates from an earlier period, for it was a 

 German translation, with some changes, from the Latin 

 "De Naturis Rerum" completed by Thomas of Cantimpre 

 about 1248. It is, therefore, truly medieval but a great ad- 

 vance upon the Physiologus. The figures are crude, yet 

 they give some internal evidence of having been drawn from 

 nature and being specially prepared for the volume in ques- 

 tion (Fig. 9). The popular interest in such works is attested 

 by the fact that the volume passed through numerous 

 editions and was followed by others which were the first 

 crude beginnings of modern studies in natural history. 

 Interest in first-hand knowledge of animals is thus evidenced 

 during the later Middle Ages. 10 



The collection of animals and plants in zoological and 

 botanical gardens further illustrates the advancing knowl- 

 edge and interest in natural history. This custom originated 

 in Italy with the increase of wealth and economic stability. 

 Botanical gardens were attached to large estates and to 

 public establishments. Collections of animals from foreign 

 countries became popular among the wealthy. These not 



9 Further elaboration of these advances in the study of microscopic struc- 

 tures and microorganisms is omitted here, since the subject has been used as 

 an illustration in a subsequent chapter. See: pp. 246-250 of the present vol- 

 ume. 



10 Locy, W. A., "The Earliest Printed Illustrations of Natural History," 

 Scientific Monthly, Sept., 1921. 



