126 HEROES OF SCIENCE. 



years of age, Gesner was cast upon the world, his 

 father having died fighting in the battle of Zug. 

 The lad was seriously ill and dropsical, and his 

 sole fortune was a little knowledge of classics, which 

 he had picked up. Probably one of the professors 

 at Zurich, Ammian by name, and who had in- 

 structed him, gave him introductions, for we find 

 the lad at Strasbourg when fifteen years of age. 

 His thoughts were to go into the Lutheran Church, 

 and it is certain that the Lutheran Wolfgang Fa- 

 bricius Capito gave him some employment, and 

 enabled him to begin the study of Hebrew. Re- 

 turning again to Zurich, the university there gave 

 him a little pension, to enable him to travel, and 

 he went into France to Bourges. There he taught 

 at a school, and occupied his spare time in learning 

 Greek and Latin. Then he went to Strasbourg 

 again, hoping for employment, and finding none, 

 was asked to return to Zurich, and to teach in the 

 university. At the age of twenty he married, and, 

 of course, much against the wishes of his friends, 

 who do not appear to have done anything for him, 

 except to have given gratuitous advice. Although 

 the Church was to be the career of Gesner, he took 

 much interest in the healing art, and resigning 

 his position at Zurich, he went, having a small 

 pension, to Basle as a medical student. Anxious 

 to know the wisdom of the Greek physicians, he 

 paid unusual attention to that language, and 

 edited an edition of a dictionary of it. This study 

 brought strange results, for he was offered a pro- 



