Epitome of the Progress of Natural Science. 247 



coming more general, was in the end fatal to it. The school- 

 men sought, not for truth, but for victory, by an ingenious and 

 verbose sophistry, the great accompUshment of the day, and 

 which was called dialectic skill. It was by such means Christian- 

 ity became corrupted, and an acrimonious spirit generated, 

 which has been felt to our day. But the time was approaching 

 when the ecclesiastical domination was to be put on the defensive; 

 great minds were arising. Occam and Richard of Swinehead, at 

 Oxford, and above all, Wickliffe, who, by his translation of the 

 scriptures, gave a death blow to the scholastic system. 



The fifteenth century abounds in great men and great events. 

 The learned Greeks, whom the fortune of war had driven from 

 their own country, had contributed greatly to break down the 

 bigotry of the times, by giving Latin versions of ancient Greek 

 works. The love of literature was revived, and correct criti- 

 cism was substituted for false logic. Men began to think, and 

 to study the ancient tongues, and thus the first step was taken 

 towards a reformation in religion, by enabling men to read the 

 scriptures in the original languages. Erasmus, Luther, and Me- 

 lancthon arose, lights that could not be obscured. Erasmus did 

 much, by the keenness of his satire, to subvert the sophistry of 

 the schoolmen ; his wit was excellent, his erudition great, and 

 his industry <mtiring ; though he continued a papist, no one con- 

 tributed more by his conversation and writings to reclaim man- 

 kind from the delusions and ignorance of the monks, among whom 

 he had passed a great part of his youth. About 1440 the 

 art of printing was first made known to Europe ; this art, as we 

 see by the printed books of that period, was almost perfected as 

 soon as discovered. This was also the age of Cosmo de Medici, 

 of the celebrated Regio Montanus, and of Copernicus. This last 

 philosopher, who was born A. D. 1472, began to doubt the Pto- 

 lemaic System about 1507. His work " Astronomia Tnstaurata," 

 in which the true solar system is given, was not published, from 

 excess of caution, until 1543. It was dedicated to the pope, and 

 he died, perhaps fortunately, the day the first printed copy was 

 delivered to him. This theory, however, the Cardinal Nicholas 

 de Cusa had in vain attempted to revive about 1445, A. D. 



The prejudices against using human subjects still continued in 

 Italy, and Berenger of Carpi, a professor of surgery of the uni- 

 versity of Bologna, delivered, in 1502, a private course of lee- 



