20 BIOLOGY AND ITS MAKERS 



neers had to be men of determined independence; they labored 

 against self-interest as well as opposition from the church 

 and the priesthood, and they withstood the terrors of the 

 Inquisition and the loss of recognhion and support. 



In this uncongenial atmosphere men like Galileo, Des- 

 cartes, and Vesalius established the new movement and over- 

 threw the reign of authority. With the coming of Vesalius 

 the new era of biological progress was opened, but its growth 

 was a slow one; a growth of which we are now to be con- 

 cerned in tracing the main features. 



Forecast of Biological History 



It will be helpful to outline the epochs of biological prog- 

 ress before taking them up for fuller consideration. The 

 foundation of progress was the renewal of observation in 

 which, as already stated, all modern science was involved. 



It was an epoch in biological history when Vesalius (1514- 

 1564) overthrew the authority of Galen, and studied at first 

 hand the organization of the human body. 



It was an epoch when William Harvey (15 78-1667), by 

 adding experiment to observation, demonstrated the circula- 

 tion of the blood and created a new physiology. The two 

 coordinate branches of biology were thus early outlined. 



The introduction of the microscope in the seventeenth 

 century, mainly through the labors of Grew, Hooke, Mal- 

 pighi, and Leeuwenhoek, opened a new world to the investi- 

 gator, and the work of these men marks an epoch in the prog- 

 ress of independent inquiry. 



Lirmaeus (1707-17 78), by introducing short descriptions 

 and uniform names for animals and plants, greatly advanced 

 the subject of natural history^ 



Cuvier (1769-183 2), by founding the school of compara- 



