14 THE NEW SCIENCE AND ENGLISH LITERATURE 



Bacon and the discoveries of astronomy and physical sciences, and 

 gradually (in the Cambridge schools) questions in moral and natur- 

 al philosophy took the place of Aristotelian problems"." There 

 developed in the faculties "some jealousy of the Royal Society, 

 and a prejudice against the work it was doing. Dr. South, the 

 University Orator, at the Encaenia in Oxford in 1669, took occasion 

 to inveigh against it in his satirical vein, denouncing its members 

 'as underminers of the Universities' ".^^ And there was doubtless 

 some excuse for this attitude, because Dr. Sprat wrote in his apology 

 for the Royal Society, — "I confess there has not bin wanting some 

 forward Assertors of the New Philosophy, who have not us'd any 

 kind of Moderation towards them; But have presently concluded, 

 that nothing can be well done in New Discoveries, unless all the 

 Ancient Arts be first rejected and their Nurseries abolished".^* 



The popularity of courses in science was apparently largely 

 dependent on the instructor. In 1660 Dr. Barrow, Professor of 

 Greek at Cambridge, said; — "I sit lonesome as an Attic owl, who 

 has been thrust out of the companionship of all other birds ; while 

 classes in Natural Science are full."^^ Likewise, at the end of the 

 century there was Richard Laugh ton, "the popular pupilmonger", 

 whose classes were large; and the famous blind mathematician, 

 " Saunderson ", whose private lectures were well attended.^® On 

 the other hand, in the Cambridge classes in Chemistry (1728), 

 "there came as many as twenty-three (the fee being a guinea). 

 Only fourteen came to the fourth course in 1735".^^ 



Inevitably, however, the conflict of the old and the new systems 

 would occupy the minds of the professors in the Universities. 

 Learned men were compelled to take sides, and especially the 

 scientists. This controversial spirit was transferred to the stu- 

 dents, — ^if one can accept the following as a fairly representative 

 picture of the college boy; "And in the first place comes home the 

 young pert soph with his atoms and his globuli ; and as full of de- 

 fiance of all country parsons, let them be never so learned and 



** Wordsworth, 0., Scholae Academicae, p. 65. 



"Ibid. p. 194. 



•* Sprat, Thomas, History of the Royal Society, p. 328. 



•* Hettner, Hermann, Engliache Literatur, pp. 16-17, quoted. 



*« Wordsworth, Christopher, Scholae Academicae, pp. 69-70. 



" Ibid. p. 189. 



