"THE UNCERTAINTY, ETC., OF THE SCIENCES?' 351 



Having familiarized one's self with the various phases of bird-life, 

 as it occurs in the open fields, dense thickets, along secluded streams, 

 and in shady forests, one can scarcely conclude otherwise, if happily 

 he has not entered upon his studies with some preconceived notion, 

 than that these wild and wary falcons, timid sparrows, fiery little 

 wrens, and cautious waterfowl, are creatures that, like man himself, 

 are thrown upon the world dependent upon their own exertions, 

 guided by their own reasoning powers. There are no prearranged 

 rules which, when birds leave their nests, they must strictly follow, 

 to exist. Given that knowledge which comes through direct and in- 

 direct instruction from the parent-birds, and a young bird, having the 

 world before it, exercises just those mental powers that man ex- 

 ercises, but limited just so far as its own wants are less than man's 

 wants as man. Finally, in the chance occurrence of some peculiar 

 habit have we not a trace of the former mode of life of some far-dis- 

 tant ancestral form ; and, in the undeniable irregularity of all habits, 

 can we not discern unmistakable indications of the gradual adoption 

 of every habit, just as the various specific forms themselves gradually 

 emerged from the archaic creature that, appearing in the dim past, 

 foreshadowed the gigantic condor of the Andes, and the petulant 

 humming-birds of our summer gardens ? 



-+ 



"OF THE UNCEETAINTY AM) VANITY OF THE 



SCIENCES." 



By IRWIN RUSSELL. 



ABOUT three hundred and fifty years ago, Henry Cornelius Agrip- 

 pa wrote a very curious book, " De Incertitudine et Vanitate 

 Scientiarum" (Of the Uncertainty and Vanity of the Sciences). Few 

 people read it now. Yet it has its interest, as an exponent of the 

 state of science at that day, aside from the attractions which are given 

 it by the quaint, sarcastic style of the author. 



Here it is, a very old edition, in the black-letter of the sixteenth 

 century. The text has numerous peculiarities. The letter " a," with 

 a dash over it, represents " an ; " there are two kinds of'r's;" the 

 double " e's " and double " o's," respectively, are put on a single type. 

 The emphasized words are printed in Eoman characters, whereof the 

 font contains no " w," and that letter is made by placing two " v's " 

 together. The book is numbered by folios, instead of pages. The 

 printer tells us that his edition is translated from the original Latin, 

 compared with an Italian version. Let us transcribe some of Agrippa's 

 remarks altering the spelling to suit our modern rules. 



