154 JEROME CARDAN 



towards one whose path never crossed mine, nor envy of 

 one whose shadow never touched mine ; the numerous 

 and weighty questions dealt with in his monumental 

 work urged me on to undertake the task of gaining 

 some knowledge of the same. After the completion of 

 the Commentaries on Subtlety, he published as a kind of 

 appendix to these that most learned work the De Rerum 

 Varietate. And in this case, before news was brought 

 to me of his death, I followed my customary practice, 

 and in the course of three days compiled an Excursus 

 in short chapters. When I heard that he was dead I 

 brought them together into one little book, in order that 

 I also might lend a hand in this great work of his, 

 and this thing I did after a fashion which he himself 

 would have approved, supposing that at some time 

 or other he might have held discourse with me, or 

 with some other yet more learned man, concerning his 

 affairs." l 



1 " Si Scaliger avoit eu un peu moins de de'mangeaison de 

 centre dire, il auroit acquis plus de gloire, qu'il n'a fait dans ce 

 combat : mais, ce que les Grecs ont apelte d/rpia rjjr dv9o\Krjs, une 

 passion excessive de prendre le contrepied des autres, a fait grand 

 tort a Scaliger. C'est par ce principe qu'il a soutenu que le perro- 

 quet est une tres laide bete. Si Cardan 1'eut dit, Scaliger lui eut 

 oppos ce qu'on trouve dans les anciens Poetes touchant la beaute" 

 de cet oiseau. Vossius a fait une Critique tres judicieuse de cette 

 humeur contrariante de Scaliger, et a marqud en rn^me temps en 

 quoi ces deux Antagonistes e*toient supeVieurs et inferieures, 1'un a 

 1'autre." (Scaliger, in Exercitat., 246.) " Quia Cardanus psittacum 

 commendarat a colorum varietate ac prseterea fulgore, quod et Appu- 

 leius facit in secundo Floridorum, contra contendit esse deformem, 

 non modo ob fceditatem rostri, ac crurum, et linguae, sed etiam quia 

 sit coloris fusci ac cinericii, qui tristis. Quid faciamus summo 

 Viro ? Si Cardanus ea dixisset, provocasset ad judicia poetarum, 

 atque adeo omnium hominum. Nunc quia pulchri dixit coloris, 

 ille deformis contendit. Hoc contradictionis studium, quod ubique 

 in hisce exercitationibus se prodit, sophista dignius est, quamque 

 philosopho." Bayle : Article " Cardan." (Sir Thomas Browne, in 

 one of his Commonplace Books, observes " If Cardan saith a 



