ZOOLOGY IN TIME OF SHAKESPEARE 231 



south of France, and worked in Switzerland with 

 Gesner. He is believed to have been with Gesner 

 when he died, and he certainly helped to arrange 

 the natural history specimens which the great 

 master left. It was probably through Penny 

 that Gesner's drawings of butterflies passed into 

 the care of Moffett, whose " Theatrum " states on 

 its title-page that it was begun by Edward Wot ton, 

 Conrad Gesner, and Thomas Penny. 



The contents of books revealing new know- 

 ledge diffused themselves among the ordinary 

 public in Shakespeare's time far more slowly than 

 at present. On the other hand, studies were 

 then far less specialised than they now are. For 

 example, we find Milton placing medicine in the 

 curriculum of a liberal education, and John 

 Evelyn studying " Physics " at Padua. Lord 

 Herbert of Cherbury insists on the necessity of 

 a gentleman being able to diagnose and treat dis- 

 orders, and thinks he should have a knowledge of 

 anatomy. " Whosoever considers anatomy, 'I be- 

 lieve, will never be an atheist/ 1 was one of his 

 recorded sayings. Dealing with the matter broad- 

 ly, I think we may endorse the statement of Mr. 

 Foster Watson : "It is noteworthy, that in both 

 botany and zoology the main advances were made 



