380 THE HISTORY OF BIOLOGY 



fact that now bears his name and laid the foundations of our knowledge of 

 that disease. Further, Bernard found out the function of the pancreatic juice 

 in the process of digestion, investigated the function of the vasomotor nerves 

 and the problem of heat-production in animals, and, finally, carried out a 

 great deal of important work in the sphere of pathology — for instance, in 

 regard to the effect of poisons — all contributions of the greatest signifi- 

 cance to the development of biology. 



Whereas in France, then, the experimental method as applied to biology 

 was used for the purpose of finding out purely physical and chemical phe- 

 nomena in living creatures, in Germany the same method had a somewhat 

 different application; to begin with, it had to serve the purposes of the purely 

 speculative philosophy that was still exercising a dominating influence at 

 the time and was later on practised in connexion with comparative anatomy, 

 being aided by the use of the microscope. This co-operation had brilliant 

 results; a new direction was given to biology, which placed Germany in 

 the first rank among the centres of research in that science. We shall now 

 proceed to give an account of the most important of the representatives of 

 this school. 



Johannes Evangelista Purkinje was born in 1787 at Lobkowitz, in 

 Bohemia, of Czech parents. His father, who was a bailiff on an estate, died 

 early, but through his mother's efforts the boy became a pupil at a theo- 

 logical college, where he learnt German and general school-subjects, and 

 for three years devoted himself to theology; shortly before he was to be 

 ordained, however, he relinquished this career and began studying philos- 

 ophy and medicine at Prague. His dissertation was on the subject of sight 

 and was influenced by Goethe's Farbenlehre, with the result that it attracted 

 the interest of the poet; through the latter's influence Purkinje, who had 

 sought in vain to procure a situation in his own country, was invited by 

 the Prussian Government to become professor in physiology at Breslau in 

 the year 182.3. '^^^ faculty had recommended another for the appointment, 

 so that from the beginning Purkinje found himself in a difficult position, 

 which was still further complicated by the fact that he was not a good lec- 

 turer, probably owing to his having a poor ear for German. For many years 

 he worked and struggled to get a physiological institute of his own, and 

 eventually, having overcome the opposition of his superiors and colleagues, 

 especially his lifelong enemy the professor in anatomy, he was able to open 

 the institute in 1840 — the first of its kind in Germany, and very modestly 

 equipped. Hitherto Purkinje had had to carry out his experiments in his 

 own home, the comforts of which he had for many years sacrificed to the 

 ends he desired to achieve. From here emerged a number of pioneer works 

 in various spheres of biology, performed by himself and the, in part, very 

 distinguished pupils he had gathered around him. After the completion of 



