20 BIOLOGY AND ITS MAKERS 



necrs had to be men of determined independence; they labored 

 against self-interest as well as opposition from the church 

 and the priesthood, and they withstood the terrors of the 

 Inquisition and the loss of recognition and support. 



In this uncongenial atmosphere men like Galileo, Des- 

 cartes, and Vesalius established the new movement and over- 

 threw the reign of authority. With the coming of \'esalius 

 the new era of biological progress was opened, but its growth 

 was a slow one; a growth of which we are now to be con- 

 cerned in tracing the main features. 



The Epochs in Biological History 



It will be helpful to outline the great epochs of biological 

 progress before taking them up for fuller consideration. 

 The foundation of progress was the renewal of observation 

 in which, as already stated, all modern science was locked up. 



It was an epoch in biological history when Vesalius over- 

 threw the authority of Galen, and studied at first hand the 

 organization of the human body. 



It was an epoch when William Harvey, by adding experi- 

 ment to observation, demonstrated the circulation of the 

 blood and created a new physiology. The two coordinate 

 branches of biology were thus early outlined. 



The introduction of the microscope, mainly through the 

 labors of Grew, Hooke, Malpighi, and Leeuwxnhoek, opened 

 a new world to the investigator, and the work of these men 

 marks an epoch in the progress of independent inquiry. 



Linnaeus, by introducing short descriptions and uniform 

 names for animals and plants, greatly advanced the subject 

 of natural historv. 



Cuvier, by founding the school of comparative anatomy, 

 so furthered the knowledge of the organization of animals 

 that he created an epoch. 



