236 ANDREW JACKSON HOWE. 



a discovery had been made. But Harvey was too 

 strong a man to be laughed out of sight and hearing. 

 He held his place at court, his position in the College 

 of Pkysicians, and lectured and prescribed at St. 

 Batholomew's Hospital. These distinctions kept him 

 up, and saved him from financial distress. 



Controversialists sprang up in various parts of 

 Europe, who sought to overthrow the views of the 

 English discoverer of the circulation. The onsets 

 were vigorous and bitter, but Harvey never deigned 

 to answer any body except Riolan. The only in- 

 stance in which he undertook to demonstrate his po- 

 sitions was when in his travels he reached Nurem- 

 berg, and became ambitious to convince the learned 

 and distinguished Casper Hoffman ; and after a clear 

 demonstration of points at issue, the obstinate unbe- 

 liever said he could not see the proof. Harvey threw 

 down his scalpel, and walked out of the doubter's 

 presence without saying a word. 



Willis, the editor and translator of Harvey's 

 works, says : " The older intellects, in possession of 

 the seats and places of authority, regarded the views 

 of Harvey as idle dreams. The apostles of all new 

 truths are youthful. Were there not successive gen- 

 erations of men, the world w r ould stand still. Death 

 is essential to the progress of mankind. No man 

 who had attained the age of forty years accepted 

 the doctrine of the circulation as demonstrated by 

 Harvey." 



Shakespeare must have formed an honorable ex- 

 ception to the cloud of veteran skeptics, for he leaves 

 unmistakable evidence that he gave credence to the 

 Harveian theory of the circulation, and he was fifty 

 years old when Harvey demonstrated his discovery 



