94 WOMAN IN SCIENCE 



'books of piety and cookery. " The attitude of the Ger- 

 mans generally toward female education, for centuries past, 

 was clearly defined by the Kaiser Wilhelm II, when, a few 

 years ago, he publicly stated: "I agree with my wife. 

 She says women have no business to interfere with any- 

 thing outside of the four K's, that is, Kinder, Kirche, 

 Kuche, Kleider children, church, kitchen, clothes." 



There was, however, during the period we are now con- 

 sidering, one remarkable example of a learned woman of 

 Teutonic origin. This was the famous Anna Maria van 

 Schurman, who was one of the most gifted women that 

 ever lived. She was, probably, as near to being a universal 

 genius as any one of her sex of whom we have knowledge. 

 Artist, musician, poet, philosopher, theologian, linguist, 

 she was the admiration of the scholars of the world and 

 the pride of the Low Countries the land of her birth. 

 She lived when Holland was in the van of human progress 

 and amidst of the splendors of the Dutch Eenaissance. She 

 was the friend and correspondent of the most distinguished 

 scholars and most noted celebrities of her time. Among 

 these were Voet, Spanheim, Descartes, Gassendi, Constan- 

 tine Huyghens, Princess Elizabeth of Bohemia, Queen 

 Christina of Sweden, and Cardinal Richelieu. To go to the 

 Netherlands, it was then said, without seeing Anna van 

 Schurman, was like going to Paris without seeing the king. 

 She was hailed as "The Tenth Muse," "The Sappho of 

 Holland," "The Oracle of Art," "The Star of Utrecht." 



That, however, which gave the greatest renown to the 

 "Learned Maid," as Anna was called, was her extraordi- 

 nary knowledge of languages. For, besides being profi- 

 cient in the chief modern tongues of Europe, she was well 

 acquainted with Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Syro-Chaldaic and 

 Ethiopic. The oriental languages she studied as an aid to 

 the better understanding of Holy Scripture. 



She was the author of several works, among which was 

 an Ethiopic grammar which was acclaimed by the profes- 



