154 THE HISTORY OF BIOLOGY 



for a time, but became more and more attracted to architecture. It is in this 

 sphere that he became best known: as the designer of the Louvre colonnade 

 he is mentioned in every guide-book to Paris. How^ever, the interest in 

 anatomy that he acquired as the result of his medical studies he maintained 

 throughout his life; he dissected animals of every available kind and com- 

 pared the results he achieved. Finally he fell a victim to his own zeal: he 

 died (in 1688) of blood-poisoning contracted when dissecting a camel that 

 had died in the Royal Zoological Garden. 



The work in which Perrault recorded his biological speculations bears 

 the characteristic title of Essais de la physique. The third of the four volumes 

 that the work comprises is called Mkbanique des animaux, and in it he has 

 developed his ideas on the functions of animal life. The work was published 

 in 1680 — that is to say, at the same time as Borelli's, and, of course, quite 

 independently of the latter's. As already mentioned, Borelli was a disciple 

 of Galileo; Perrault, on the other hand, shows himself in his writings to be 

 manifestly influenced by Gassendi, although accessible biographies make no 

 mention of either any personal or any literary contact between them. Gas- 

 sendi based his conception of nature on the ancient atomic theory, such as it 

 has been preserved in literature, mainly through Lucretius; moreover, he was 

 an admirer of Galileo and an opponent of Descartes. In Perrault we find views 

 on all these questions in full accord with Gassendi. In his first chapter he 

 states matter to be composed of individual particles, at the same time hard 

 and elastic; the air in particular is composed partly of finer, spherical and 

 partly of coarser, cubiform particles. On the other hand, when it comes to a 

 question of gravity, Perrault shows himself familiar with Galileo's discover- 

 ies in that field, and finally he sharply criticizes Descartes, particularly his 

 theory that animals lack consciousness. In opposition to this assertion 

 Perrault maintains the independent and peculiar intelligence of animals, 

 citing numerous examples. 



Perrault' s philosophical method 

 With regard to the knowledge of animals, as also with regard to physics, 

 Perrault lays down two scientific methods: the "historical," which is purely 

 descriptive, and the "philosophical," which seeks to ascertain the causes 

 of what takes place in nature. Following this philosophical method, Per- 

 rault deals with special phenomena in the animal kingdom, wherein he 

 endeavours always to find out the mechanical connexion of causes, declaring 

 that this is all that it is possible for m.an to discover. He entirely disagrees 

 with both the older, idealistic philosophy, which scorns to have anything 

 to do with natural phenomena, and the younger philosophy — that is, that 

 of Descartes — which denies all manifestations of soul in animals. Perrault 

 then tries to ascertain the mechanical course in quite a number of vital func- 

 tions; particularly sense-impressions, the digestion, and the external move- 



