54 PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 



1 200 1600. The Violin family of instruments, the basis 

 of modern orchestration. It sprung from the ancient string 

 instrument crwth, which was transformed into the viol about 

 or after the Xlth c., and this was improved until the violin 

 form was reached. Fetis traces the use of the bow to India. 



XVIth c. The Cross-Staff, and Sea-quadrant the latter 

 probably of early origin the Greeks, as we have seen, had 

 a quadrant. 



1453. Printing, which rendered the pulpit secondary, and 

 was the propagator of learning, free inquiry, the Reforma- 

 tion the great civilising agent of Europe. The CHINESE,, 

 as early as the VI th c., and probably before, had invented 

 block-printing ; but the alphabetical printing was due to 

 European genius to Guttenberg especially. The assistance 

 which Printing gave science may be estimated by the fact 

 that Vitellio's Optics, Euclid's Geometry, were published as 

 early as 1533, Rhseticus's Trigonomical Tables soon after, 

 and so forth. 



1560. The Suction Pump, which led Galileo and 

 Torricelli to the discovery of atmospheric pressure. 



Then came great men : 



1394 1460. Prince Henry, the Navigator, initiated the 

 explorations which led to the discovery of half the world, 

 by the incessant labour, direction, solicitude, and protection 

 he bestowed on navigation. He may be said to have 

 opened Africa and Asia. His scientific claim lies in his 

 having created modern navigation and geography, and 

 applied to both the assistance of mathematics, cartography, 

 astronomical instruments and observations, thereby ensuring 

 the steady development of the two sister sciences, each of 

 which was full of promise for civilisation. 



1394 1482. Toscanelli constructed a GNOMON on the 

 Cathedral of Florence in 1468. 



1423 1461. Peurbach invented the decimal division, 

 and composed Tables of the Eclipses, and also EPHEMERIDES; 

 re-invented the tangents, and calculated the Tables of 

 Tangents for each degree a new step in the advancement 

 of mathematics; was the first European who composed a 

 treatise on trigonometry. 



