8 Mac Leod, The Place of Science in History. 



cuse more than twenty centuries have rolled away. Many 

 battles have been fought and many towns destroyed, 

 but the writings of Archimedes, translated into many 

 languages, have never ceased to be a fountain head of 

 knowledge. Architects, engineers and shipbuilders, all 

 make use of the principles he revealed, and to this day 

 we are still using his water screw, still determining the 

 density of solid bodies by means of the test which he 

 applied to Hiero's crown, and still teaching his lessons 

 on hydrostatics. What he achieved was in itself progress, 

 and by its inspiration it was instrumental to further pro- 

 gress, even in an age when factions were struggling, 

 tyrants oppressing their subjects and kingdoms falling to 

 destruction. 



Many inventions and innovations mark the Middle 

 Ages, and the mariner's compass, the Arabic numerals, 

 gunpowder and paper all had their definite influence on 

 human progress. But probably some of these inventions 

 are older than the Middle Ages, and some were not made 

 in Europe. The information, too, which we can collect 

 bearing upon their origin and development is incomplete 

 and often not reliable. 



We would, therefore, limit ourselves to a passing 

 mention, and proceed to a second example of a man of 

 science, one drawn from more modern times. 



Simon Stevinus (Stevin) was born at Bruges 

 about 1548, and died at The Hague (or at Leiden) about 

 1620. We note three different aspects of his work : his 

 contributions to the advancement of science, his dissemi- 

 nation of scientific knowledge among the people, and his 

 practical application of scientific theory. 



He was a mathematician and a physicist, and among 



