LIFE AND WORKS OF NICOLAUS STENO III 



less attempted to appropriate it, and Steno, who had already spoken 

 of it as his own, thought himself branded as an imposter, and for the 

 sake of his honour felt obliged to vindicate himself. This caused a 

 bitter controversy, which lasted for the next three years. It has been 

 so thoroughly discussed by Gosch that there is no reason to go into 

 details about it here. The unequality of the contest will at first sight 

 be apparent to anybody: on one side the highly respected professor 

 with his numerous, influential friends ; on the other side the unknown 

 foreign student, twenty *two years of age. And Blaes certainly made the 

 most of all his advantages; he backed the controversy with the whole 

 of his authority; he made use of testimonials from his relatives and 

 students; nay, he even induced a professor in Utrecht, Nicolaas Hobo= 

 ken, who had no qualifications whatsoever to act as judge in the mat* 

 ter, to publish a pamphlet against Steno, which contained nothing but 

 loose assertions, accusations and insults. To this Steno replied in a 

 manner which reflected the greatest honour upon himself. He never 

 swerved from actual facts, but proved in a tranquil and objective man* 

 ner that he was right and Blaes was wrong; and though there is no 

 doubt that he was deeply hurt by Blaes' accusations, he never for a mo* 

 ment let himself be carried away to any harsh or offensive remark. The 

 controversy ended at last with a kind of reconciliation : Steno at the 

 request of his friends left a final, decisive pamphlet against Blaes un* 

 published, and the latter on his side one day received Steno in his house. 



It is worth while noticing that Steno in reality was not the first 

 observer of the parotid duct, which had, in fact, been found as early 

 as 1655 by Needham, who, however, did not publish his discovery 

 till 1667. 



While this was going on, Steno was no longer in Amsterdam. Af* 

 ter a stay which had, as mentioned above, only lasted four months, 

 he left for Leyden, where he carried on his studies under Sylvius and Leyden 



van Home. Franciscus de la Boe Sylvius, an able physician and clinicist 1660-1664. 

 who demonstrated patients to his students, was of great importance 

 in the development of the science of chemistry, especially that of 

 physiological chemistry, as well as in the study of the brain and 

 the glands. His talents, his catching energy, his enthusiasm and his 

 power of expressing himself clearly, as well as his many amiable 

 qualities made a strong impression upon Steno, which is evident 

 from the frequent mention he makes of Sylvius, even many years af* 

 terwards. With Sylvius as well as with his other teacher, van Home, 

 a celebrated surgeon and anatomist, Steno was at that time most inti* 

 mately connected. The fact is that all the important discoveries, which 

 Steno made during his stay of nearly four years in Leyden, had al* 

 ready secured him many friends and admirers. He was admired as 

 an able dissector, but still more for his capability of making new ob* 



