150 THE NEW SCIENCE AND ENGLISH LITERATURE 



natural rising and falling, the doubling and redoubling of her 

 voice, might well be lifted above earth, and say, 'Lord, what music 

 hast thou provided for the Saints in Heaven, when thou affordest 

 bad men such music on earth' ", 13 In Walton there is a partial 

 fulfilment of Sprat's injunction to walk in nature as in a garden, 

 and to taste of its plenty. ' ' There I sat viewing the silver streams 

 glide silently towards their centre, the tempestuous sea; yet some 

 times opposed by rugged roots and pebble-stones, which broke their 

 waves, and turned them into foam, and sometimes I beguiled time 

 by viewing the harmless lambs; some leaping securely in the cool 

 shade, whilst others sported themselves in the sun". 14 Thus with 

 the eyes of a scientist and the feeling of a poet, Piscator has com 

 bined the delightful qualities of accuracy and a sense for beauty. 

 He would not have felt himself out of place among the group of 

 scientists at Gresham College, nor would they have despised his 

 fund of accurate information. Part scientist, part poet, and 

 wholly an honest gentleman, Izaak Walton finds his early place 

 in this new influence. 



Aside from all controversies between sects, or between theology 

 and philosophy, is the quiet and interested study by John Evelyn 

 of the forest trees in England (Silva). The task was imposed 

 upon Evelyn by royal request, but the genius of the man was such 

 that the resulting book, instead of being a dull report, is yet alive 

 with the pleasure of the writer. New knowledge has led to new 

 interest; intimacy with nature has begotten enthusiasm; and a 

 bulletin has been made a piece of literature. 



The book deals with the familiar trees of the English forests 

 and with those that have been and may be imported. The genera 

 are treated upon a common plan, kinds, care, habitat, and uses. 

 The oak, elm, walnut, beech, ash, maple, sycamore, cherry, hazel, 

 birch, and many others are described. The uniformity of the plan 

 gives a touch of monotony to the book, yet a sense of freshness 

 attends almost every description. At times the author injects an 

 element of personal feeling into the passage. Of the holly he 

 writes, "Is there under heaven a more glorious and refreshing 

 object of the kind, than an impregnable hedge of about four 



"Ibid. p. 26. 

 " Ibid. p. 96. 



