DEVELOPMENT OF BIOLOGY 



447 



Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), the most famous pupil of Plato and 

 dissenter from his School, represents the highwater mark of the 

 Greek students of nature and is justly called the Father of Natural 

 History. Although Aristotle's contributions to biology are numer- 

 ous, perhaps of most significance is the fact that he took a broad 

 survey of the existing data and welded them into a science. He did 

 this by relying, to a considerable extent, on the direct study of 

 organisms and by insisting that the only true path of advance lies 

 in accurate observation and description. The observational method 

 and its very modern development, the laboratory method of biolog- 



Fig. 288. - - Aristotle. 



ical study, find their first great exponent in Aristotle. But mere 

 observation without interpretation is not science. Aristotle's gen- 

 eralizations based on the facts accumulated and his elaboration 

 of broad philosophical conceptions of organisms give to his biolog- 

 ical works their lasting significance. (Fig. 288.) 



While Aristotle's biological investigations were devoted chiefly 

 to animals, his pupil and co-worker, Theophrastus (370-286 B.C.), 

 made profound studies on plants. Theophrastus not only laid 

 the foundations but also gave suggestions of much of the super- 

 structure of botany; an achievement which entitles him to rank 

 as the first great student of plant science. (Fig. 289.) 



Before leaving the Greeks we must mention Hippocrates 



