THE FURTHER GROWTH OF SCIENCE 95 



modern scientific times. In the material applications of 

 science, the later decades of the century witnessed the 

 beginnings of the Industrial Revolution. The rise of modern 

 industry and the rise of modern democracy were almost 

 simultaneous. The scientific frame of mind developed 

 during the Renaissance was mainly responsible for these 

 momentous changes as well as for the technical progress 

 of eighteenth century science. 



FOUNDATIONS OF THE MODERN SCIENCES 



The history of natural science during the seventeenth and 

 the early eighteenth centuries is characterized by the rapid 

 accumulation of minor facts. Just as the manifold details 

 were added to the outline of geographical knowledge fur- 

 nished by the earlier centuries of discovery, so astronomical 

 and other branches of science became increasingly compre- 

 hensive. Biological knowledge, for instance, received an 

 impetus during the latter half of the seventeenth century by 

 the serious use of the microscope in scientific investigation. 

 The discovery of microorganisms immediately followed, and 

 the minute anatomy of larger forms was made known. In 

 studies with the microscope, as well as in natural history, 

 examination of new kinds of animals and plants presented 

 seemingly endless fields for discovery. Hence the broader 

 biological problems were commonly disregarded. Neverthe- 

 less, the generalizations of present-day biology were rooted 

 in the detailed knowledge thus acquired. A similar situation 

 existed in other scientific fields. The knowledge of scientific 

 fact and method, then acquired by the popular mind, marks 

 the beginning of a persistent inclination toward scientific ex- 

 planations, which had far-reaching consequences even during 

 the eighteenth century. 1 



1 The dilletantism of many individuals, who posed as savants at this time, 

 tends to obscure the situation which actually existed. The underlying stim- 

 ulus to such pretensions among the upper classes was the position of unprec- 

 edented esteem in which scientific men were held. 



