184 THE HISTORY OF BIOLOGY 



parson, near Leyden in Holland; and there he studied, first of all, theology; 

 but after becoming acquainted with Spinoza's theories he soon put an end 

 to all idea of entering the clergy. So he had to look about him for a new- 

 means of livelihood. After taking a degree in philosophy at Leyden he moved 

 to the small university of Harderwijk and there very quickly passed a medi- 

 cal examination, after which he settled down in Leyden as a practitioner 

 and teacher. At first he had a hard struggle, but he assiduously carried on his 

 profession, and his reputation rose year by year until he was finally elected 

 cO the first chair of medicine at Leyden and became universally acknowledged 

 as the foremost physician in Europe. In that position he acquired an influ- 

 ence such as few have ever possessed before or since; his advice was sought 

 not only from every corner of this hemisphere but even from the most distant 

 parts of the East. He made a vast income and died a multi-millionaire. These 

 successes were made possible owing to his brilliant gifts and, in spite of 

 lifelong physical ill-health, his unfailing energy. But above even these 

 merits his contemporaries valued his noble character; he lived extremely 

 simply, while he used his great wealth to render help to the poor and sick 

 and to give generous support to science; thus, he rescued Swammerdam's 

 writings from destruction and enabled Linnaeus to carry out his work in 

 Holland; he was friendly and modest in society, but when the necessity 

 arose, he could stand upon his dignity against even the highest in the com- 

 munity. He died in 1738, having during the last years of his life had to give 

 up his professorial duties owing to ill health. 



Boerhaave' s theory: limitation of natural-scientific research 

 Boerhaave's attitude towards the general biological problems of his time 

 was undoubtedly dictated by the fact that he had studied Spinoza in his 

 youth and was throughout his life a keen admirer of Sydenham. Reminiscent 

 of the former is his clearly and vigorously expressed characterization of the 

 relation between body and soul. In man everything that involves thought is 

 to be ascribed entirely to the soul as its starting-point. Whatever, on the 

 other hand, involves extension, impenetrability, form, or motion, must be 

 referred entirely to the body and its motion. Again, he is reminiscent of 

 Sydenham in his realization of the limitations of natural-scientific research. 

 "The investigation of the ultimate metaphysical and the primary physical 

 causes is neither necessary nor useful nor possible for a physician. Examples 

 of these causes are: the elements, the first forms, the origin of procreation, 

 movement, etc." This quotation, moreover, shows his decidedly practical 

 nature, also resembling Sydenham's. He actually placed it as the foremost 

 aim of his science to create capable practical physicians. To gain this end, 

 however, he considered that a grounding in general science was indispensa- 

 ble, and he therefore made a close study of the general structure and func- 

 tions of the body, his work being based on what was a rare thing in those 



